It's just a crush
by septumsempra
Summary: Hermione Granger thought that her final year at Hogwarts would be a breeze... throw in being Head Girl, scheming friends, secrets, crushes and Draco Malfoy... turns out it's more like a Hurricaine... OOC, COMPLETE.
1. You're not even eating, Get out of here!

**This story takes place in Hermione Granger's 7th year. The war is over. The events in Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows did not occur. Dumbledore, Tonks, Mad Eye, Hedwig, Fred, Lupin, Snape and everyone else are alive and well :) Keep in mind that some characters will be OOC. Enjoy the Story!**

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"Ah," sighed Hermione as she made her way down to the great hall for breakfast. She felt relieved. Today was the day after she had finally spilled her deepest secret to her best female friend, Ginny. She'd finally told her that she liked Draco Malfoy. Of course, she never would have told Ginny under normal circumstances, but that girl was too nosy for her own good. Hermione was afraid that she'd figure it out on her own and then get Ron and Harry involved, and that was something she just couldn't have.

Even though the war was long over, and it was discovered that Malfoy never participated in any death eater activities, Ron and Harry still hated him with a passion. They took great pleasure in calling him a ferret. Hermione felt rather bad for the poor chap. He's lost his father in the war and was currently living with his mother. The wizarding worlc didn't believe that he was innocent, they wholeheartedly believed that he was just like his father, Lucius Malfoy, a merciless cold-hearted killer. Hermione knew that wasn't true though. She and Malfoy shared head duties together and she'd seen a side of him that she was sure that no one else at Hogwarts had seen, save for maybe his best mates Blaise and Pansy.

She'd noticed that he was much quieter this year and didn't hang out with those two walking brick walls, otherwise known as, Crabbe and Goyle. He stopped calling the trio, Scarhead, Weasel and Mudblood. In fact, he didn't go out of his way to insult them anymore. For the most part, he left them alone, instead choosing to keep to himself. Hermione figured that the war had taken it's toll on him. He had fought for the light side during the final battle and had seen his father struck down before his very own eyes by Bellatrix Lestrange. Everyone guessed it was safe to say that the woman had finally lost it, attacking her ally. Hermione thought it must have been really hard for Malfoy, not to mention his mother. Imagine, your own sister killing your husband. While Lucius may not have been the most caring of fathers, he was a father nonetheless and she couldn't even imagine watching her own father die before her very eyes.

"Oof," grunted Hermione as she rounded a corner and walked into something hard and warm. She looked up into the calm gray steel-like eyes of the subject of her thoughts. _Speak of the devil,_ she thought. She let her eyes quickly go down his frame._ He really is quite handsome_, she thought,_ he can't know that I like him that would just be awful_. While she believed that Malfoy had changed for the better, she wasn't really one for risking public humiliation by letting him know. It was one thing to have Ginny know, but the man himself, well that was just not going to happen.

"Granger, you really should watch where you're going," said Malfoy as he reached out with his arms and straightened her.

"Yeah, so should you," she muttered. He snorted.

The two started walking towards the great hall together, neither really talking, it was a comfortable silence, not at all awkward like one might believe. Hermione wouldn't go as far as to say they were friends, but they were definitely not enemies anymore, they were more like acquaintances.

"Oh hey Granger, I just remembered that Dumbledore asked to meet with us in his office after breakfast."

"Do you know why?"

"No, but I think it's because he wants to organize some kind of school activity, you know, the mingling of different houses, unions being made, the typical from the old coot."

Hermione rolled her eyes as he said that. As they walked they argued back and forth in a playful manner about whether or not Dumbledore really was a bit strange.

"Okay, okay! You got me, so he might be a BIT off his rocker, but he is still a perfectly normal, intelligent and hardworking individual," reasoned Hermione.

"A bit?" snorted Draco, "More like he's completely los-" at that point the two had reached the great hall and opened the door. Everything quieted down as the pair were seen together standing in the doorway. Hermione looked around completely confused as to why everyone was suddenly staring at her and Draco as though they'd just grown two heads. Then she heard the familiar voice of her best friend, Ron, shout from the Gryffindor table,

"MIONE! TELL US IT'S NOT TRUE! PARVATI SAID LAVENDER TOLD HER THAT SEAMUS OVERHEARD YOU TELLING GIN THAT YOU HAVE A THING FOR MALFOY!"

That was when Hermione looked at the red face of Harry and the upset face of Ginny. She understood than why everyone was staring at the two of them. She was afraid to meet the gaze of Draco Malfoy which she could feel burning into the side of her already red from embarrassment face.

"Mimblewimble..." she whispered, completely mortified. She turned on her heel and walked out of the great hall as fast as her mary jane's would take her. She reached the wall around the corner and leaned against it. _Oh no, what do I do? Malfoy obviously knows now! Should I just ignore it... maybe he'll ignore it? Yeah, we'll act like this never happe-_

"So Granger, you got a crush on me?" asked a very smug Draco Malfoy as he came up beside her and looked at her with that trademark smirk.

"Uh... well we must be getting to Dumbledore's! He's expecting us!" Hermione practically shrieked as she started speed walking towards his office.

Of course that wouldn't be enough to deter Malfoy. He easily kept up with her steps. Taking one large one for every two small ones of hers.

"You know, Granger, it's really not that bad a thing, liking me. I mean, lots of girls do, you're not the only one, so stop being shy. Is it because of my devilishly good looks? Or my sweet and charming personality?"

"Mhmmm," was all that Hermione replied.

'Granger, for being the smartest witch of the year, you really aren't that smart you know. Ignoring me isn't going to make your crush go away," He admonished.

"Malfoy, you already know it's true, so it's really not going to change anything by hearing me say it," Hermione quietly said as she continued speed walking.

"Yes it will, go ahead, Granger, tell me you like me, come on, I know you want to,"

"Malfoy, no I d-"

"Granger, let's not lie to ourselves now, we both know you like me so why don't you just go ahead and say it,"

"But Malf-"

"Come on Granger, just say it, three little wor-" He was interrupted by Hermione's yell.

"I LIKE YOU! OKAY? I LIKE DRACO SODDING MALFOY!"

"Good, Because I like you too Granger"

_Wait what?_ But Malfoy was already off walking towards Dumbledore's office, acting as though he hadn't just confessed he liked her back.

"MALFOY! WAIT, DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT?" she hollered down the hall, he really was a fast walker.

"Come on, Hermione, let's not dawdle now, the old coot awaits!" he called back.

With a frustrated groan, Hermione raced after Draco. _That man really is the bane of my existen_ce. She thought as she caught up to him.

Just as they got to Dumbledore's office and were riding up the staircase she heard him whisper close to her ear,

'And yes, Granger, I do like you."

She never had a chance to reply though as the door had opened and Draco was already walking towards the waiting Dumbledore.

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**So? How was my first attempt at writing a story? This was going to be a one shot, but I've decided that the way I ended it leaves for more. So i'll be continuing. And don't worry i'm not going to be abandoning this anytime soon. So enjoy! Please review even if it is only to say hello or something. It just makes my day to read reviews :)**


	2. The yule ball's coming up

**Well, I just want to say that I'm only going to be updating around once a week maybe less because I am busy with school.  
HP belongs to JK!**

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_Stupid Ferret_! Huffed Hermione as she made her way back to the Head's Quarters. The Head's Quarters consisted of a common room and two separate bedrooms for Hermione and Draco, and unfortunately only one bathroom which the two of them had to share. She whispered the password to the Portrait of the Four Founders of Hogwarts and the portrait swung open for her to enter. She glanced up at the Portrait of Anne Boleyn that was guarding her room before glancing up at Draco's Portrait of Sedley Smirkpaltter. It really was quite fitting for him, Smirkpaltter. Of course thinking of him brought back all her previous thoughts of disdain.

_"Ah, thank you for meeting me so early and on a Saturday at that, I'm sure you both have places you'd rather be," Dumbledore kindly said to the two Heads now sitting in the chairs in front of him._

_"Of course I'd rather be anywhere but here," muttered Draco in a voice so low Hermione had to strain her ears to hear, but had no doubt that Dumbledore had heard the rude comment._

_"Lemon Drop?" asked Dumbledore flourishing his arms to point at a rather interesting bowl filled to the brim and then some with lemon drops._

_"No thank you headmaster," Hermione kindly replied while Draco chose not to say anything._

_"Well, your loss. Now, on to the reason for today's meeting. This year, I have decided that as a treat for the students, Hogwarts will be partaking in a ball of sorts," Professor Dumbledore paused and popped another of his favorite candies into his mouth before resuming. "This won't be like the Yule Ball, seeing as how there is no Triwizard tournament, but this will be a ball to celebrate the New Year," he folded his hands together as he saw the look of excitement on Hermione's face. "As the Head boy and girl of Hogwarts, it will be left up to the two of you to plan out this night together. Should any questions or concerns arise, they may be asked to Professor McGonagall as she will be most delighted to help you with anything that you may need."_

_Oh a ball! This is so exciting, just wait until I tell Ginny! Hermione thought. All her worries and thoughts about Draco forgotten for the moment. He on the other hand was thinking that this was the worst idea ever. A ball? Ugh, I think not. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a quill after watching Snape dance a ballet thank you very much, was the main thought running through his mind._

_"Sir, what exactly is it that the two of us must plan out?" inquired Hermione, returning to her professional mode._

_"It will be quite simple. The two of you will be in charge of hiring a band, setting up the decorations," Dumbledore paused as a look of concentration appeared on his face. "You will inform the Prefects that they will be helping with the decorating. You will be ensuring that everyone follows the dress code of semi-formal attire and ensuring that there will be no rule breaking," Draco snorted, of course there would be rule breaking. "This ball will be taking place on the Eve of New Years and student's will be allowed to come back early from their vacation to attend the ball since this ball is mandatory for all witches and wizards fifth year and up. Do you have any questions?"_  
_  
Hermione thought about it for a moment, "No sir," she looked at Draco who shrugged and looked away._  
_  
"Good, now that that is settled, This meeting is adjourned, however, Mr. Malfoy, if you could stay behind for a moment that would be lovely."_

_Hermione looked from Dumbledore to Draco who was staring right back her. Beginning to feel unnerved by her gaze, he broke the silence._

_"Well, get going Granger! Sitting around doing nothing isn't going to let you listen to my private conversation with the Headmaster. Go start planning the ball!"_

_Embarrassed that he knew why she hadn't moved and feeling that she was getting red, she quickly mumbled a goodbye to the Headmaster and left the office so that the two could talk in private._

Hermione trudged her way up the stairs to her portrait while thinking about what the Headmaster could be talking to Draco about, only pausing in her thoughts to say her password, Crookshanks, before entering her room and pulling her pajamas back on which consisted of a baggy green t-shirt and gray shorts. As she sat at her desk thinking, she heard the portrait door open and close before hearing Draco's, also open and close. Guess he's back, She thought as she took out her incomplete potions essay and started to write while listening to the sounds of banging coming from the other room.

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**In Draco's Room:**

_Who does that man think he is_? He furiously thought while flinging his textbook at the wall. He threw himself onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling.

_"Mr. Malfoy, do you know why I have asked you to stay behind?" asked Dumbledore, peering at Draco over the tops of his half-moon spectacles._  
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"No sir," responded Draco._  
_  
"Well, you are Head Boy, and as Head boy, you have a duty that you must fulfill," _  
_  
"Sir?" asked Draco, confused._  
_  
"You will help Miss Granger with the planning of the ball Draco, you will not leave all of this to her," Professor Dumbledore finally said._  
_  
"Excuse me, sir, but what makes you think I was planning on making her do everything?" asked Draco angrily._  
_  
"I understand that the two of you do not get along very well," Dumbledore eyed him carefully._

_"Headmaster, with all due respect, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make assumptions on things that you don't know anything about," Draco glared._  
_  
"I was merely stating a fact Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Dumbledore calmly, not raising his voice like Draco had._  
_  
"Well then, thanks for your concern, but it's not needed, goodbye," Draco got up from his seat and left the office in a huff, returning to his common room._

Well, I'll prove to him, I'll show him and everyone else that I am a great Head Boy! He angrily got up from his bed and his stomache growled. He then remembered that he hadn't had breakfast that day so he snuck down to the kitchens so that he could grab a bite.

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**Sorry!, I know this chapter is rather short, but it's more of a filler chapter. Stay tuned :) Oh! and there are actually portraits of Anne Boleyn and Sedley Smirkpaltter at Hogwarts. Please review, it just makes my day to read reviews :) **


	3. Looks like a bad guy in Slytherin

**Chapter three is up! :)**

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Twenty minutes later all noises has ceased from the other room. Hermione finally finished her essay on the different ways to stop the spread of a poison. _Two long days of work, Snape better appreciate this. _But knowing him, he probably wouldn't. Hermione got up and stretched with the full intention of staying in her rooms until class started again on Monday so that she could avoid her friends. Of course that wouldn't be the case, fate was against her after all. She heard the banging on the Portrait door and when she noticed that Draco had no intention of going to open it, she left her room to answer it. However, when she saw who it was, she immediately wished that she hadn't bothered.

"MIONE! What was that in the great hall! Please tell us it isn't true!" Cried Harry the-boy-who-lived Potter, escorted by Ron and Ginny who had a very apologetic look on her face which clearly read, _I tried to stop them!" _Hermione only sighed and led her friends over to the sofas in the middle of the common room. She chose not to speak at that moment, instead looking over her friends. In the seven years that she had known Ron and Harry, they had both grown tall and Ron stood at 6'1 while Harry stood at 5'10. She couldn't help but compare their height to Malfoy who rounded out the three at 6'3. She felt quite short being only 5'3 while even Ginny was taller than her at 5'6. Then she noticed that Harry and Ron both had well-built bodies. They were not the big in your face type, but rather the lean, fit kind. Again she couldn't help but compare them to the slightly bigger but still lean and fit from Quidditch body of Draco Malfoy. _I got it bad. _She thought while picturing him. _Why would he like me though? I'm not the usual he dates! _Hermione was petite and curvy rather than the taller leggy blondes that Malfoy seemed to go after. Her hair was now very tame and hung in softer natural curls around her face down to the middle of her back. Her hair had taken on a somewhat golden brown hue over the summer but she was just relieved that it was no longer the giant frizzy mess she used to have. Over the years she had gained weight in all the right places and she was very proud of her figure. She was glad that she wasn't stick thin and that she had a bit of junk in the trunk as she had heard some American tourists once say. But still, while she would admit that she was pretty enough, she was no where near the standards of the object of her affections.

"MIONE, MIONE.. HERMIONE! GRANGER?" at that Hermione finally snapped out of her trance and smiled sheepishly at her friends.

"Lovely weather we're having. Finished Snape's Potions essay yet? I've just finished mine, but I can't help but think that I left out some things. Yes I'm sure I did, I must be getting back to it to add on some more det-"

"Hermione, cut it out, we all know you have everything possible and more listed and that your essay is at least twice as long as Snape required. Stop trying to change the subject. Is it true?" interrupted Ron getting straight to the point.

_I wonder if I can play dumb.._

"Is what true Ron?"

"STOP ACTING STUPID HERMIONE! DO YOU LIKE MALFOY?"

_Guess I can't play dumb, being the smartest witch of the year really does suck sometimes._

"Well, uh you see guys, the thing is, there is a perfectly logical explanation to all this, if you would just take a moment to listen, you see, there was this thing... yeah this thing and..and-"

"Ah, I thought I heard the boy who just doesn't know how to die and his sidekick weasel," drawled the unmistakable voice of Draco Malfoy from the staircase.

"Shut up Ferret, and butt out," Harry practically snarled back.

"What's the matter Pothead, upset that Granger likes me instead of you?"

"How's mummy, ferret? Doing alright now that her worthless deatheater scum husband is dead?"

There was silence all around as Draco's eyes flashed a dark gray color, which showed Hermione that he was trying very hard to keep his anger intact.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" admonished Hermione, thoroughly disgusted with the behavior of her best friend. "How** DARE** you? You come into my common room, bombard me with questions, and then insult the Head Boy? You should be ashamed! Ten points from Gryffindor!" Her friends stared at her in shock, she'd never taken points from her own house before. " I'd appreciate it if you all left. I will speak to you guys later but not right now."

"But Mione! You never answered us, do you like him?"

Hermione chose not to answer instead getting up and crossing the room to the Portrait hole where she held the door open for her friends to leave. One by one, they got up, albeit Harry and Ron a bit grudgingly, as they passed her she heard Ginny whisper, "Sorry Mione," and then they were gone. She took two deep breaths before turning around to look straight at Draco Malfoy who was still struggling to get his temper in check. She walked up to him slowly.

"Draco... would you like to sit down?"

He brushed past her without a word and took a seat on one of the arm chairs, leaning forward slightly whilst putting his arms on his thighs and taking deep breaths. Hermione chose to sit directly across from him, all the while watching him closely to see any signs of danger. After about five minutes of this Draco finally spoke,

"Like what you see Granger?" with one of his trademark smirks.

This snapped Hermione out of her daze while she rushed to correct him.

"No! I wasn't staring at you, you prat. I was simply looking at your...shirt," Then she realized what she had said, "No wait that came out wrong!"

Draco just chuckled, "I'm sure it did Granger, after all, how can you resist looking at my chest? Seeing as how that is where my shirt is located is it not? But don't worry, I don't mind looking at yours either,"

Hermione was silent for a moment before she finally decided to speak, "Pervert," Her face was slowly becoming red.

"You know Granger," said Malfoy as he looked up into her eyes, holding them in place, "I've never seen you blush so much in my presence, If we hadn't already established the fact that you do, I would be left under the impression that you like me without ever knowing if you actually did, and seeing as you keep staring at my godlike perfection, it must be because you are attracted to my devilishly good looks. See even without you answering me earlier, I figured out why you like me. If you're the smartest witch of the year, I'm definitely the smartest wizard of the year!"

"Oh shove it, Malfoy," replied a beet-red Hermione as she got up from her position on the seat and made her way up to her room.

"Oh and, Granger?"

Hermione turned halfway up the steps to look at Malfoy.

"I like your pj's, very Slytherin!"

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**Three chapters already! I currently have 10 chapters written. How's is going? Do you think I need to be adding anything? Please review even if it is only to say hello or something. It just makes my day to read reviews :)**


	4. Nobody studies at Hogwarts except you

**Everything belongs to the divine and amazing J.K Rowling :)**

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November was fast approaching when Hermione finally got around to start the planning for the New Year's ball. She felt like the world's biggest slacker, but she simply did not have the time to plan something. What with studying for her N.E.W.T.S and avoiding her best friends, she simply did not have the time to plan a ball. When she had finally gotten the chance to speak to her friends, it was not by any means what she would call a pleasant experience.

**FLASHBACK:**

Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room and made her way over to where her three friends sat. Checking to make sure that there was no one within hearing distance this time, she sat down. She waited patiently for her friends to form the words they wanted so that they could start asking her more questions. Ginny just sat there feeling torn. She had no problem whatsoever with Hermione liking a Slytherin, in fact, she liked one herself, not that she would ever admit that to anyone. While she had no problem with this, she was torn because of the fact that her brother and his best friend did. Ron would obviously expect her to take his side in the matter, but she didn't want to. She planned on sticking by Hermione no matter what her brother said.

"Hermione, we're going to ask you only once, do you or do you not like Malfoy?" Ron was the first to speak.

"Ronald, why would it matter to you whether I do or do not like someone? It is my life, and being my life I am the only one who gets to decide these matters, NOT you, NOT Harry, NOT anyone,"

"Hermione, just answer the question," said an exasperated Harry.

Hermione was quiet, then deciding to just get this over with she spoke, "Yes,"

Ron hesitated for a moment, as if he was afraid of the answer. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I like Draco Malfoy,"

"BUT HERMIONE! He's a slimy Slytherin git! He'd never like you!" Ron exploded.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" cried an indignant Hermione.

"Well why would he like you!" Ron retorted, not realizing he was digging himself into a hole.

"What do you mean by that Ronald? Just because you are too dense to realize, I am in fact a GIRL, and being a GIRL, guys do like me! Victor liked me! Cormac McLaggen liked me! I AM NOT UNLIKEABLE RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!" Hermione cried.

"Hermione, I never said you were! But let's be real now, Krum only liked you so that he could have an advantage in the Triwizard tournament and Mclaggen only liked you because he wanted to get on the Quidditch team! None of them actually _liked_ you," Ron tried to reason.

"Well then why do Victor and I still keep in touch? The tournament is long over! Why did Mclaggen still kiss me after Quidditch was over? If they only wanted me for the tournament and Quidditch, then why are they still talking to me?" She screeched.

"You and Victor still talk? And that sore excuse for a keeper kissed you?" roared a red faced Ron.

"Yes Ronald! And guess what, Malfoy likes me too!" And with that Hermione got up without saying another word and left.

_How dare he? This is my life and all he does is ruin it! If he wasn't one of my best friends, I wouldn't speak to him, Merlin's pants, he's worse than Draco sometimes!_ At that Hermione really had to think. She'd been referring to Malfoy as Draco quite frequently and she didn't even realize it until now. _Oh dear, what will the guys think now that I've told them that Draco likes me? _

Ginny stared at her brother and her one time love. She felt pretty stupid for ever "loving" Harry. He was a great friend and nothing more to her, she felt towards him like she did towards Ron and that was in no way romantic. The shocked looks on their faces after Hermione had left were still there, she wasn't quite sure how long they would last so she decided to follow Hermione so that she could make sure that she was okay. She left the common room and started walking quickly in the direction of Hermione's head common room where she was sure she was headed. She walked for what seemed like ages, but was really only five minutes when she turned a corner and saw Hermione. Hermione was walking really fast and she could see that she was still deep in thought.

"Hey, you okay?" Ginny softly asked.

"Yeah..." Hermione mumbled.

"I'm sorry," Apologized Ginny, even though she had nothing to apologize for.

"For what?"

"My brother is the biggest git in the world, just because he's too stupid to realize that he has feelings for you does not mean that other people can't like you," Ginny snorted.

"Thanks Gin, I know I shouldn't let him get to me, but sometimes I just can't help it," blubbered an exasperated Hermione.

"Well you should have seen his face when you said that Malfoy liked you. Priceless!" Ginny cackled.

Hermione smiled at that and asked, "Why didn't Harry say anything?" asked Hermione, in a wondering tone.

"I don't know, I guess he was just shocked that you actually like Malfoy. I mean they are practically enemies you know," said Ginny.

"Yeah maybe, I hope this doesn't strain our friendship though, I just want to have an uncomplicated year," declared Hermione.

"Kind of hard to have a relaxed year Hermione. I mean you are Head girl, you like Draco Malfoy and you have your N.E.W.T.S. It doesn't get any harder than that," scoffed Ginny.

"Guess you're right," Hermione laughed as the two girls bid farewell and returned to their respective common rooms.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Hmph," sighed Hermione as she recalled that afternoon. She wished that it had gone better, but it's not like she had a time-turner she could use to go back and change anything. Merlin, even if she did it would not make any difference. Ever since that day one month ago, Harry and Ron weren't really speaking to her. While Harry would speak to her occasionally, Ron was downright ignoring her. It was rather rude actually. Her books had fallen once and Ron simply walked past her without stopping to help or anything. After that incident Hermione thought, _well two can play at that game,_ so she too was ignoring Ron.

Hermione was currently busy planning out the decorations for the ball, by herself she might add since Malfoy was suspiciously absent. Ever since that day in the common room when Hermione had asked her friends to leave, Malfoy and her hadn't really spoken to each other. They didn't avoid each other, only spoke when they absolutely had to. She didn't know why they weren't really talking. She thought that maybe after they had confessed they liked each other they would be on more amiable terms. They weren't though, and the only reason she could think of was that he hadn't really meant it when he had said that he liked her.

The planning for the ball was going by really slowly. She thought that by now she would have been completely finished with the ball and could spend all her time studying. Maybe if Malfoy had helped her she would have been finished. She was always by herself though, planning the ball. She guessed that since he was a guy he simply didn't like balls or something, she couldn't think of any other reason as to why he had left the duty to her. _He sure is an irresponsible Head boy_. It was a mystery to everyone why Dumbledore would pick Malfoy to be the Head boy. Even he was confused by it! It wasn't that he was a bad student, he was actually really intelligent. While he was second to Hermione academic wise, he was also the Quidditch captain. It was understandable that he got Head boy based on his achievements, but everyone had thought that Ernie Macmillan would get it. He was well-known and liked, he was also very smart, but in the end it had gone to Malfoy.

She looked over her list for the decorations,

_Blue and silver color theme_

_Tables all around the dance floor_

_Falling snowflakes_

That was all she had for the time being, it wasn't much but Hermione just couldn't concentrate on how to make the evening a success. She was so caught up in her thoughts about the decorations and her personal life that she never heard Malfoy come in.

"I think you should add Mistletoe all over the great hall, Granger," he whispered quite close to her ear and made the hairs on her neck stand up. Hermione jumped up so fast from surprise that she fell down on the floor tangled in a mess of used paper. He laughed at the look of surprise on her face. She stood up calmly and walked right up to him with the decorations list in her hands.

"Well Malfoy, now that you've decided to finally show yourself, here is the list, have fun planning," She spoke in a voice as though she hadn't just embarrassed herself in front of him.

'Why do I have to do it? I think you're doing just fine on your own so YOU finish it,"

"You have to do it because you are HEAD BOY, it is your responsibility as well, not just mine... and quit whispering in my ear!" And with that Hermione left the room to go down to the great hall.

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**Ta-da! Chapter 4. :) This writing business is harder than I thought. Review to let me know if you think they are acting rather OOC :) Oh and review anyways to let me know how i'm doing, THANKS!**

**OOH, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed and stuff, it makes me really happy to know that other people like what i'm writing. You're all great!**


	5. Double Double toil and trouble

**JK Rowling is simply amazing.**

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Draco stared down at the piece of paper that the recently departed Head girl had just given him. He had actually been serious about the mistletoe. After all, what was a holiday party without mistletoe? The ball was bound to be a bore anyway, so they might as well try to liven things up a bit, what a big load of good that would do… Balls were really just not his thing. Girls spent hours getting ready for something that was only going to last around three hours and guys were under crazy amounts of pressure to ask out some girl before someone else got there first. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to ask out a girl, despite popular belief, especially since they all seemed to travel in packs together, it was very difficult to get one on her own to ask her. That's why he skipped the hassle and just went with Pansy last time. If he got stuck with Pansy again, he gagged at just the mere thought of having to put up with her at a ball, let alone having to dance with her. It wasn't that he hated Pansy or anything, she was actually a very nice and charming girl whom he'd been friends with since before Hogwarts and was still one of his best friends, the problem though, was that she liked him... a lot. He tried to let her off easily, but she very persistent in being with him. He could only hope that she would outgrow this phase and find someone else before her feelings got hurt too badly. She deserved someone nice,even though people thought Pansy was the Ice Queen (something that was not true but she didn't bother to correct people, because, really, she didn't care what they thought). Draco got out the phoenix feather quill that his mother had given him as a present for completing sixth year and started to write:

_New Year's Eve Ball_

_Blue and silver color theme_

_Tables all around the dance floor_

_Falling snowflakes_

_Mistletoe all around the school_

But then he started thinking, Hermione had only told him to finish the list, she'd never specified what kind of things they needed... Oh well, he figured he might as well have some fun with it.

_Dancing Hippogriffs all around the great hall_

_Face painting stand (Ask Dean Thomas to be __the__ artist)_

'_Predict your future booth__'__ with Trelawney_

_Win a date with __'__Pothead__'_

Ah yes, his list was simply marvelous. Granger would definitely appreciate it. If she didn't, to bad so sad: he'd tried. He got up and put the list away in his desk drawer, now that he was done with his head duties for the evening and had no homework to do, he decided he might as well go down to dinner. Leaving the common room and marching to the Great Hall, he passed by so many strange girls that giggled whenever they saw him. While he liked the attention, being a guy and all, he wished someone with a brain would take a liking to him. The only person he could even think of that was intelligent was Granger. She was also smart, pretty and sharp. She'd always a retort ready to go for him. That was one of the many things he liked about her. Not that he would ever tell anyone but her that he liked her. He doubted she even believed that he, the great Draco Malfoy, could ever like her on a romantic level. Of course that was his own fault for pretty much ignoring her after those confessions had been made. The thing was, he didn't want to lose what he had with Granger. And he was afraid that if they started something between them, it would end badly and then they would be back to horrible remarks and ice-cold fury towards each other. Draco hadn't called Granger a 'mudblood' since before the war ended; he planned on keeping it that way too. He wasn't the same person he'd been before, but sometimes his anger got the best of him and he wouldn't be able to control it.

As he made the long walk down to the Great Hall, he couldn't help but think about her. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't like 'tall blondes'. Granger was the complete opposite. She just seemed so fragile, like she would break in his arms if he was to hold her, not that he ever would get the chance of course, but if the opportunity arose, he would take it. She didn't have the straight locks that every other girl seemed to have. While he may have called her a 'bushy haired beaver'when they were younger, he didn't think that anymore. He liked her curls, they were different: unique. He also thought that she might have used magic some point during her third year to shrink her teeth. That, he thought that was his fault since he was always insulting her teeth. All in all, Granger was beautiful. When he first heard Weasley yell across the great hall to Granger asking if she liked him, he was stunned. It had been like Christmas had come early! Of course, he had to go and tease her a bit about that fact afterwards. He wouldn't be Draco Malfoy if he didn't. He liked how she was such a caring person. Taking his side after Potter had insulted his family. Just thinking about that moment enraged Draco. _Stupid boy-who-lived, thinks he's all that with the teachers and students praising him everywhere he goes. Hmph. _To say that Draco didn't like Potter would be an understatement. He despised him. He hated how everyone thought he was the greatest thing since butterbeer! How they praised him everywhere he went. What about everyone else? What about everyone else who had fought in the war and had risked their lives? No one followed them around singing their praises.

He checked his watch as he neared the doors to the Great Hall, _6:00. Just on time._ He opened the doors and after a quick look around to see who was there, he made his way over to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin table was the table next to the wall and beside the Gryffindor table. It was annoying sitting near them since sometimes he would come down for breakfast, sit down prepared to eat a nice meal, but have his morning ruined by hearing the voices of Potter and his sidekick 'Ginger'. There were those mornings when he heard the sweet melodic voice of Granger, but she didn't speak much during breakfast, he guessed she wasn't a morning person, like him. Another thing they had in common.

Draco sat down next to Blaise and started piling food on to his plate. Bacon, an english muffin, roast beef, roast potatoes and a nice cold glass of pumpkin juice.

"Well hello to you too, sunshine!" piped the always enthusiastic voice of Blaise.

Blaise Zabini was most likely, the only person in the whole world, other than his mother, who could get away unscathed by calling him sunshine or some other horrid pet name. Blaise was just different… he was Blaise. He was just living life one day at a time. After the war he'd realized that you needed to have fun while you could because you might not be around much longer. So he, being the amazing best friend that he was, had decided to make it his personal goal in life to get Draco to loosen up a bit. If he made Draco laugh or smile just once in a day, he felt as though he had made the world a better place.

"Shut up Zabini," Draco snarled.

"Well, aren't we 'Mr. Grumpy' today?" replied Blaise.

Draco just ignored him as he saw Hermione enter the Great Hall and sit down next to Ginny. He was watching her so intently that when she looked up and stared him in the eyes, he didn't realize until a few moments later. As soon as he noticed her looking, he quickly looked away but not before he saw her blush and Weasel's sister bursting into laughter. He looked down the Gryffindor table and noticed the other two-thirds of the golden trio sitting with their dorm mates: Neville, Dean and Seamus. While most people were surprised and curious as to why Harry and Ron didn't seem to be speaking to Hermione, he was one of the few who knew why they weren't. While it was mean, he liked it that they weren't really on speaking terms, the trio had lost the brains of their group and were bigger dunderheads than usual. As he thought about the trio, he didn't notice Blaise looking at him from the corner of his eye. Blaise noticed that Draco's gaze kept drifting to Granger every few seconds and he got a mischievous grin on his face.

"Never knew you liked Granger."

Draco spluttered out the pumpkin juice that he just sipped and was quick to correct his friend.

"WH-WHAT? Who says I like her? You must be delusional, my friend, I think you've taken one too many bludgers to the head, mate," Draco stuttered.

"Sure Drake, I notice you keep looking at her, please don't insult my intelligence. You know you can trust me!" objected Blaise.

"I don't like Granger," Draco protested once again.

"Are we in Egypt?"

"...No?" replied Draco, completely confused.

"Then why are you so in da-nile?"

Draco grimaced. "Blaise, that was just awful."

"Oh shut it, It's written all over your face that you like her, so just admit it. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone, heck, even if I did, they wouldn't believe me," he reasoned.

"True enough," Draco agreed.

"So, do you? Like her?" Blaise asked once again.

"...Yes. And if you tell anyone Blaise, I'll know and I'll make Voldemort look like a kitten compared to what I'll do to you," Draco threatened

Other than a slight shudder at the name of the former dark lord, Blaise just nodded and smiled. He looked over to Granger and the She-Weasel.

"She-Weasel sure is hot. That hair of hers is just so fiery," confessed Blaise

At this Draco turned to look at his best friend, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"YOU have a thing for the She-Weasel?" Draco yelped. He was shocked. It's not that he disliked the youngest Weasley, he didn't have a problem with her. It was her stupid brother that he didn't like and by association he really didn't care for her.

"Keep it down," said Blaise, noticing their house mates turn to look at them. "Well yeah, why not? She's hot, seems intelligent, she plays chaser just like me and she's got a great personality to boot."

"How would you know her personality?" Draco asked, "Have you ever even spoken to her?"

Blaise just shrugged his shoulders as he took a bite of his roast chicken.

Draco just shook his head at his friend. Two best friends liking two other best friends. _Why is life so complicated? _he thought as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice. He noticed Hermione and She-Weasel get up and proceed to the doors to leave the Great Hall; no doubt they were heading back to the Head's common room for a night of gossip. He saw Weasel turn his head and look after Hermione with an odd expression as she passed. That raised a spark of anger and for some reason jealousy within him. He was confused and didn't know why he was jealous since he knew that Hermione liked him and not Weasel: that ship had sailed long ago and Hermione had gone away with it. While Weasel might like Hermione, she did not return the affections and probably never would again. As soon as she and the She-Weasel were out of the doors, he sprung up out of his seat and left to follow them, his food forgotten. Blaise grabbed an apple for his friend and stepped into line beside him as they too made their way up to the Head's common room.

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**Ooh Blaise Zabini likes Ginny Weasley! :) We'll have some interaction between both pairs in the next chapter. And if you haven't noticed yet... I'm updating every tuesday. :)**

**Is the story progressing a bit slowly? Please review! :) And let me know if my chapters are too short. I got 1000 hits on the 10th of July, that made me really happy :)**

**AND GUESS WHAT! I have myself a beta :) SoUsay234, you should check out her page and stories :) **


	6. I despise gingers and mudbloods

**There is a banner to this story, you can get to it from my profile :)**

**Everything belongs to the amazing J.K!**

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Blaise and Draco entered the Common Room moments after the two girls had seated themselves on the sofas and made themselves comfy. They were just discussing how Snape would look with a good makeover when in walked the two Slytherin 'gods' as many referred to them. When the two boys saw the girls sitting there, they made a beeline for the sofas across from them and sat down facing them.

"Is this seat empty?"

"Yes it is, Zabini, and this one will be too if you sit down," responded Ginny looking over at Blaise.

"Oh, so, wanna go back to my place?"

"Well, I don't know. Will two people fit under a rock?"

Hermione and Draco shared an amused glace at the antics of their friends before turning their attentions back to them.

"I would like to give myself to you as a Christmas present."

"Uh no thanks, Zabini, I don't accept cheap gifts."

"Hey! I'm not cheap!" snorted Blaise. "Did you know I'd go through anything for you."

"Well then, there's the door," replied Ginny pointing towards it.

"You are like an angel, did it hurt when you fell out of heaven?" asked Blaise, winking at Ginny.

"Not nearly as bad as when that bludger hit you in the last match." Blaise flinched as he remembered that bludger sent his way by Anthony Rickett, which reminded him, he had to get back at that little bugger.

"You know Ginny, if you were a Dementor, I'd become a criminal just to get your kiss."

"You do realize you would pretty much die, right?"

"It would be worth it though… I know we're not in Professor Flitwick's class, but you are definitely charming me."

"Oh, I'll charm you alright..."

"Oh, Ginny, my love, being without you is like being afflicted with the Cruciatus Curse."

"I'm sure that could be managed."

"Hagrid's not the only giant on campus, if you know what I mean."

"I know, Grawp is pretty huge."

Blaise looked at her with confusion before continuing,

"Do you want to head to the Shrieking Shack? We could do some shrieking of our own."

"Why go there? I can make you shriek right here."

"REALLY!"

"Yeah, just let me get my wand…"

"Never mind. I might as well be under the Imperius curse, because I'd do anything for you.

"Then, will you leave?"

"Anything but that. Hey Weasley, I like your bed, can I Slytherin?"

"You've never even seen my bed Zabini. But I rather liked that last line." She smirked.

Blaise struggled to think of something else to say, but he was at a complete loss of words. He simply couldn't formulate another sentence. He stared at the divine creature before him who was somehow able to match him in snappy responses and he knew that had to admit defeat. There was just no beating this angel sent from the gods. He told her this too, but she just stared at him in amusement. Blaise met her stare evenly and looked back into her eyes. When she didn't look away he decided to play a game, even if she wasn't aware that they were indeed playing one. He decided that they should play the eye contact game, he'd always play with his house elves as a child, but they always let him win so it really was no fun. But now there was this great individual who wouldn't shy away from the gaze that he directed at her. She seemed to have caught on pretty quickly though as to what he was doing and didn't look away. She was actually really good at this game. Growing up in a house with six brothers, one had to be pretty good at looking someone in the eye, mainly their mother, and being able to lie to them without them detecting it. She had a lot of experience and was definitely the best liar in her family, simply because she would never crack under the pressure and look away when someone stared at her. Her brother's really sucked at that, with one of them always managing to fail somehow and revealing everything to Molly Weasley.

When Blaise and Malfoy had first walked in she immediately got nervous. Blaise was just so handsome! Blaise was a tall boy, with high cheekbones, dark skin, and long, brown slanting eyes. She felt like you could get lost in those eyes. She liked him. Why wouldn't she? So it was true that most of the girls at Hogwarts had a thing for him, and even sometimes with him, she wasn't going to let that stop her. Why should she be shy? She was just as marvelous as all those other girls, if not more. Then he'd started to use those cheesy pick up lines on her, of course she would keep the conversation going. She may have seemed cool and collected with her responses, but she was worried that one of her comebacks may have sounded stupid! If they had, he hadn't called her out on it and for _that_ she was glad. Now they were keeping eye contact, she liked this, it was fun and she planned on winning.

She and Blaise kept staring at each other, not noticing Draco and Hermione slip over to where the desks in the Common Room stood.

They weren't trying to get some alone time together - Merlin forbid if that was the case – they'd just decided to let their friends amuse themselves and go do something more productive.

The two sat down and stared at each other. Realizing that he wasn't going to speak first, Hermione caved in.

"The list, Malfoy," Hermione asked.

"What list?" questioned Draco.

"You know what list I'm talking about," she retorted.

"I assure you, Granger, I have absolutely no idea what list you are speaking about," Draco was a bit confused by this point.

"Are you stupid?" asked Hermione

"My, my, what rude words from the Head Girl! And here I thought that 'Queen Gryffindor' never cussed," drawled Draco, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh, shove it, Malfoy, Where's the list?" Hermione wasn't going to admit it, but she liked these little banters she had with Malfoy. It brought on a sense of normality for her: just like old times.

"I'm serious, Granger, what list are you talking about?" demanded Draco.

"THE DECORATIONS LIST!" Hermione cried.

"Oh, _that_ list. No need to bite my head off, you could have just said that." He smirked.

Hermione just shook her head and held her hand out for the list. Draco rummaged through his desk drawer before finally coming up with the right piece of parchment. He wordlessly handed it to her, and prepared to face the wrath that he was sure she would unleash once she saw his outrageous suggestions.

Hermione started to look over the list and the corner of her mouth tugged up once she saw that he had, in fact, written the mistletoe part. Then she saw what else he had written.

_Dancing Hippogriffs? What on earth? Face painting? DATE WITH HARRY?_

"MALFOY!" yelled Hermione.

"Yes, Hermione?" asked Draco innocently.

"WHAT IS THIS? WHAT A COMPLETE LOAD OF UTTER RUBBISH!" she screeched.

"You asked for a list, I gave you a list, you are the one who failed to specify the types of things you would like," acknowledged Draco.

"First off Malfoy, this is a decorations list NOT an activity one. And aren't you afraid of Hippogriffs? Remember Buckbeak? You know, the Hippogriff you tried to have killed? And how do you know what face painting even is? That's a muggle thing! And honestly, a date with _Harry_? Yeah right," snorted Hermione.

"Well, why, I never. I am affronted, Granger. You have hurt my pride. I am not afraid of the damn things, Buckbeak was simply a nuisance that I didn't care for. And I'll have you know that I have been taking Muggle Studies since fifth year, which you should know since I am in _your _class. Besides, 'know thine enemy better than one knows thyself', of course I'm going to try to understand Muggles. Don't you remember that one unit we did where we learned about ways that Muggles amuse themselves? And we learned about a 'carval'? Also, in case you haven't realized, the majority of the girls in this school, would kill for a date with'the boy-who-lived'," he replied

By this point, Ginny and Blaise had stopped with their game, which Ginny had won since Blaise had looked away, and were now watching Draco and Hermione bicker like an old, married couple.

"Oh, get over yourself, Buckbeak was an innocent creature that never did anything wrong! You provoked him simply because you couldn't handle the fact that Harry was able to approach him! And how was I supposed to know why you were in Muggle Studies, I made a point to ignore you in all my classes. Muggles aren't even your enemy! And it's a CARNIVAL not a carval! And Harry would never agree to that! That's like sending him into the snake pit, he'd be devoured!" Hermione hollered.

"That monster attacked and injured my arm! He was _NOT_ some innocent creature! And as if I'd be jealous of 'scar-head'! And anyone I don't like is considered an enemy unless I decide otherwise! Nor do I care how you pronounce the bloody word! Not like I'm ever going to have to know what a bloody CARNIVAL is! And that's all the more reason to have people win a date with him! He'd be gone! I've noticed you haven't said anything about Trelawney in your little rant!" yelled Draco.

Hermione and Draco hadn't even noticed that they were both standing up now yelling at each other, both their hands itching towards their wands.

"HE IS _NOT_ A MONSTER! AND YOU _ARE_ JEALOUS! YOU ARROGANT JERK. GOSH, I WISH THAT YOU'D BEEN LEFT AS A FERRET! AT LEAST THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR INSUFFERABLE VOICE YOU STUPID, PALE GIT! AND I HAVEN'T MENTIONED TRELAWNEY BECAUSE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT THAT POOR EXCUSE FOR A SUBJECT. AND LEAVE HARRY OUT OF THIS YOU STUPID, BIGOTED JERK!" screamed Hermione

"I WOULD NEVER BE JEALOUS OF HIM! YOU STUPID MUDBLOOD. ALL YOU DO IS TALK: OH, LOOK AT ME I'M HERMIONE GRANGER! RESIDENT 'KNOW-IT-ALL' OF HOGWARTS! BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!" he bellowed.

Everything in the room quieted down after Draco uttered the word Mudblood, a word he hadn't spoken since the war.

"Hermione, I-I didn't mean that!" he apologized profusely, once he realized what he'd said.

Hermione seemed to be taking calm and collected breaths, trying not to lose control, pretending that Malfoy hadn't just called her a mudblood. She saw the shocked looks on Ginny's and Blaise's faces and she seemed to calm down. She looked over at Ginny and said:

"Ginny, I would like to spend the night in your dorm room please."

"Uh.. yeah, of course, Hermione." Hermione started to walk towards the common room entrance, but was stopped by Malfoy's hand, which had grabbed onto her wrist.

"Please, don't go, listen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that to you, it was a mist-"

"_RELASHIO! FLIPENDO!_" Hermione screeched cutting off the end of Draco's sentence.

Draco was thrown backwards from the impact of the spell. Luckily, he landed on the couch and not on the desk or the wall, but as he looked up, all he saw was the brown hair of Hermione Granger swing through the door. Ginny shook her head and followed her best friend after muttering a quick and quiet 'good-bye' to Blaise.

Blaise walked over to his friend and hauled him up,

"You messed up, mate," Blaise stated simply.

Draco groaned, "I know."

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**I know my chapters are pretty short, but this was the longest yet. Stupid Draco just had to go and call her a mudblood, :( Please review and let me know what you think!**

**The_ Knockback Jinx_ is a spell which can be used to 'knock back' an opponent, blast jars and creatures or activate magically charmed switches. The incantation is Flipendo. :)**

**And thank you SoUsay234 for betaing my story :)**

**PS: Anthony Rickett is a Hufflepuff beater who was on the team for sure when Cedric captained the team, I don't know what year he graduated but let's just say he's in his sixth year, not that it matters since we won't be seeing him again. :)**

**I would just like to take a moment to thank all my reviewers.**

**In particular, the one's who have reviewed every single chapter! edwardsoneandonlylove, Minnieismyidol, Snapesdiary and Siriuslyback. Thanks guys, all your reviews mean a lot to me!**


	7. You'll pay for this, you'll all pay!

**Thank you JK for creating such amazing characters! This plot belongs to me, but JK is my idol :)**

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Hermione was sniffling and tears were running down her face when Ginny caught up to her. The two girls walked in silence to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny didn't try speaking to her friend because she knew that she was distraught, and when Hermione Granger was distraught, you should be sure to give her a moment or two. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of her wand, which she had used so many times on Draco Malfoy in the past. If Hermione Granger raised her wand at you, you ran, and you ran _fast_. She fingered her 10-¾ vine and dragon heartstring wand before asking:

"Do you think I hurt him Gin? When I knocked him backwards?"

"Well, yeah, but not much, he did land on the couch, not like he was knocked into a desk or something," responded Ginny.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" asked Hermione after a short pause.

"'Mione, he deserved what he got. Besides, you didn't _hurt_ him, I know that if you really meant him some kind of harm you would have used O_ppugno_ like you did on my brother that one time," replied Ginny, trying to make Hermione feel better.

Hermione smiled at that, remembering the first time she had used the spell, she'd been talking to Harry after seeing Lavender and Ron snogging in the common room, the two had ended up in the same room as them and Hermione had taken her anger out on Ron.

_Harry__ spun around to see Hermione pointing her wand at Ron, her expression wild: The little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets toward Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach._"

"I wouldn't use that spell on Draco, I didn't want to harm him... just cause him some sort of discomfort," said Hermione.

"Well, if you want, I mean, I could always go back and Bat-Bogey him," laughed Ginny.

Hermione just laughed and shook her head, and then the tears started pouring again.

"I-I just thought he'd changed! That he was a better person now. He's ridiculed me and my friends since first year! He bothered me because I'm muggle-born, but I thought that that didn't matter to him anymore. That he didn't care for the termination of all things not pure-blood. I mean, why would he fight for the light side if he actually believed in all the pure-blood supremacy nonsense. I thought he'd seen the error of his ways… b-but-" Hermione broke into a fresh batch of tears. "He's still the same arrogant jerk he always was! Thinking he's better than everyone who isn't a pure-blood, thinking that we're the dirt on the bottom of his shoe," cried Hermione.

"'Mione, I don't think he thinks like that anymore. I mean this is stuff that was drilled into him as a child, he can't just _forget_ it, but I know he's really trying. I know he didn't mean to call you those things, he seemed genuinely remorseful after he'd said it," Ginny tried to reason.

"I-I know, but sometimes I just wish that I could hate him! It would be so much easier on me if I could. Maybe then two of my best friends wouldn't hate me for fraternizing with the enemy, and then everything would be normal, just like it's supposed to be. I wouldn't have all this drama around me. Gin, all this stress, it's really getting to me! I got an E on the last essay we did for Professor Snape, an E! I don't get E's! Oh, I just know it's going to bring my mark down, and then I won't be at the top of the class! Oh no, then Malfoy will be! He'll rub it in my face, and…and…GINNY! Oh, what am I going to do!" wailed Hermione.

Ginny, seeing that her friend was obviously in hysterics took charge. She swirled Hermione around and shook her by the shoulders so that she would stop freaking out.

"Hermione Jean Granger, you listen to me and you listen to me good. You are the smartest witch of your year for a reason. Quite possibly the smartest witch to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. So you got one E on an assignment, that is not going to be the end of the world! You are intelligent and everyone stresses out now and then. You received 10 O.W.L.s, the highest number out of anyone this year. The only people to ever beat you are Percy, Bill, and Barty Crouch JR, and let's be real now, Crouch was a death eater who probably cheated. You are better than this Hermione, now stop beating yourself up over nothing. Draco is not going to rub anything in your face because it actually seems like he likes you," lectured Ginny, trying to make her friend see sense.

Hermione sniffed, "Well, he did say that he likes me back…"

"Wow, good to know what a friend you are, thanks for keeping that from me, Hermione, really, I appreciate it," said Ginny sarcastically.

"Oh no, Ginny! I just forgot, I didn't believe him when he told me you see. So I mean, I naturally just pushed it from my mind and forgot about it, you know I wouldn't withhold information from you Gin!" Hermione objected.

"Don't worry Hermione, I know you wouldn't. Calm down. But why didn't you believe him?" asked Ginny.

"Well, he just never mentioned it again, so I wasn't sure. I thought he was just joking around with me," admitted Hermione.

Ginny seemed to be deep in thought before asking, "You like him right?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed without hesitation.

"I don't blame you, really," Ginny said. "I know he's a bit of a prat, but he's one good-looking prat."

Hermione was surprised at first, but then she felt tears start to form in the corner of her eyes. "But I don't _want_ to like him," she admitted, clearly upset "He's _Draco __S__odding Malfoy_, for Merlin's sake!" Ginny raised her eyebrows at Hermione's cursing; _she's becoming a potty-mouth_, she thought, but kept her thoughts to herself. Hermione's rant continued, her voice rising with every sentence. "I mean, this is the same guy who's made all of our lives hell for years. He's been so rude to me; he's always picking fights with Harry and Ron. He tried to have Buckbeak killed. He's acted like he owns all of Hogwarts for the past six years. He's insulted your family simply because you're not some crazy traditional pure-blood fanatic family. And he's just been such an arse for all my Hogwarts years!" The tears were running freely down her cheeks now. She hadn't cried this much in years. Even during the war, she kept her emotions in check, what was it about Malfoy that made her like this? What in Merlin's beard was wrong with her?

"Despite all that, you still like him don't you?" Ginny pressed.

"Yes, despite everything's he's done, I still like him, heck, I even forgive him for all the pain he's caused me and my friends over the years," sighed Hermione.

"That's because you know he's changed Hermione, you know he's a better person now. Your heart is telling you that he needs another chance," stated Ginny.

"But, I don't want to get hurt Gin, I don't think I could handle it. And this is Draco Malfoy, maybe you haven't heard, but he does have a reputation as a bit of a heartbreaker around here. The only girls he hasn't been with is us Gryffindor girls, but then again, I do think that Lavender has joined the group of Malfoy's Girls," added Hermione thoughtfully.

"You're right, we aren't Malfoy's Girls, but that's because we're better than all of those other girls. And to be quite honest with you, I think Lavender has too. But Draco won't hurt you, not intentionally, he seems to be trying, he's just a bit shy, all he needs is a push in the right direction - the right direction being you."

"Are you sure Gin?" asked a skeptical Hermione.

"I've never been more sure of anything," promised Ginny.

"Not even when you realized you don't love Harry?"

"Well... except that."

"Or when you realized that you want to play professional quidditch when you're done school?"

"Uh… that too."

"Or when you reali-"

"OKAY, I get your point, but I'm sure of _this,_" interjected Ginny, "Trust me."

Hermione laughed and the two girls continued walking back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh hey! Gin, what was up with you and Zabini?" asked Hermione recalling the way the two were acting in the common room.

"Uhh, what do you mean?" stammered Ginny.

"Well, you guys were flirting the whole time," stated Hermione.

"No, we weren't!" Ginny squeaked, feeling the blood rush to her face.

"Really, because it seemed to me like you were," Hermione said with one eyebrow raised.

"We weren't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Absolutely!"

"I don't believe you," Hermione stated, staring at her friend.

"Oh, uh, why is that?"

"Because you were flirting with him, he was flirting back, you're blushing all over and I've noticed you staring at him quite often. "

"Oh… well, when you put it that way…" Ginny mumbled.

"So do you like him?"

"Umm… maybe. A bit… No…Y-yes." Ginny stuttered before ducking her head so Hermione couldn't see how red she really was, red was really just not her color, what with having red hair and all.

Hermione squealed before hugging Ginny.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew there was a reason for the excessive flirting going on! Why didn't you tell me?" scolded Hermione.

"Oh, well, see, I wasn't really sure, and I wanted to be sure I did actually like him... you know, before telling anyone," lied Ginny. Truth was that she didn't want anyone to know.

"Oh Gin, that's fantastic! Does anyone know?"

"No, and I plan on keeping it that way. It's one thing for you to like a Slytherin, but if Ron found out I did, ugh, he'd never leave me alone! I'd never have a peaceful day again," groaned Ginny.

Being reminded of Draco caused Hermione to start crying again. Though not as heavily as before, there were still tears being shed. She felt like the world's biggest 'cry-baby', she was crying over nothing! Yet, she couldn't stop.

"Oh Hermione! Stop crying please, I didn't mean to make you cry, and we're here now, you don't want anyone to see you've been crying do you? They will ask questions," said Ginny.

They stepped through the entrance to the common room and Hermione wiped her face with the back of the sleeve from her Hogwarts blouse. She looked up to see who was in the common room, and staring right back at her sitting at the couches in front of the fireplace were Harry and Ron: They'd seen her tears and her wiping her face. She looked at them before trying to walk past to the stairs that led to the dormitories.

"Hermione, we need to talk,"

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**Oooh cliffhanger! Kind of, who is it that ****that ****said they need to talk? Guess you'll find out in the next chapter Please Review! I know people hate reviewing, but it really does make an author happy to know that people like what they're doing. There have been lots of hits to the story, and alerts and favorites, but most people don't end up reviewing, which is kind of sad. Anyways, thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and to everyone who's reading It's just a crush. You're all great!**

**Taken from HPwikia:**

**"The only known characters to receive all twelve O.W.L.s are Percy and Bill Weasley, and Barty Crouch Jr."**

**If you haven't yet noticed... I like to tell you where I get my facts from :)**

**Thanks again to my wonderful Beta SoUsay234 :)**

**PS: I'm going on vacation this week so next week's chapter might be a day or two late. You know what would be great as a coming back gift? Reviews! :)**


	8. We're all in this together

**Hello Beautiful people of the world How are you this fine day? I won't keep you waiting, here's chapter eight!**

**Many thanks to J.K Rowling, without whom my life would be boring without a certain scarhead.**

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_"Hermione, we need to talk,"_

Hermione froze on the spot, debating whether or not she should keep walking or turn to face her friends. She quickly listed the pros and cons in her head, before realizing: _Why should I give them a minute of my time? They've been ignoring me for weeks; they probably need my help with something. That's the only reason they are talking to me._ With that thought, Hermione continued walking towards the stairs that would lead to Ginny's room. She felt someone behind her and figured it was Ginny, coming to follow her up to her room. So you can imagine her surprise when she was grabbed by her left wrist and turned on the spot.

"Would you just stop and listen to us already? Why are you making everything so bloody difficult?" Ron practically yelled as he dragged her over to the couches and made her sit.

It didn't even register when she sat down and she stared up at him in shock. _Did Ronald just grab my wrist? Oh, that jerk better not have bruised my arm!_ Her mind rambled as she glanced towards Ginny; she bore a look of shock and a little relief as she just stared at Hermione, who was now with her two best friends. Knowing that she was safe with them, and that this was something that Ron and Harry had to discuss with Hermione alone, she left the common room, which was now completely empty except for the three members of the golden trio, and headed to her room.

Hermione felt a bit betrayed as she saw Ginny leave her with Ron and Harry, they wouldn't ever hurt her of course, but she was not in the mood to talk to the two of them, especially since the only reason they were was because they probably needed something. She looked away from the two of them who were sitting opposite her and crossed her legs and arms and took on an angry stance.

"Wow Ron, good going," said a quiet Harry as he took Hermione's left wrist gently and muttered a quick _Episky_. When Ron had grabbed Hermione by her wrist, he'd left a faint but visible bruise in the shape of his fingers.

Hermione hadn't even noticed the finger shaped bruise on her wrist until Harry muttered the healing spell and gently placed her hand back in her lap. She just huffed and stared at a rather interesting loose thread on the Gryffindor couch that she was sitting on.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry, Hermione! I didn't mean to grab you so hard, I just wanted you to stop and come over here so that we could all talk, you know, as friends," apologized Ron. He said it with such a remorseful expression that Hermione almost forgave him, but not quite.

"Oh, so now we're friends, are we? When you make a mistake and want to apologize so that you don't seem like such a jerk. That's when I'm your friend right?" Hermione angrily replied, not pausing once to consider Ronald's feelings.

"Hermione, you've always been my friend. Not just because I want to apologize," replied a shocked Ron, a bit startled by Hermione's little outburst.

Hermione laughed bitterly, looking anywhere but at the two teenage boys sitting across from her.

"I'm sure, so what is it that you need help with? Got an essay that you can't finish? Need me to go do some research for you? Is that it? Is that why you've decided to speak to me after all these weeks? Because you've finally realized what incompetent buffoons the two of you are without me?" Hermione hissed.

Ron opened his mouth to reply to her, but Harry cut him off.

"Hermione, you know that we value your friendship, we don't just hang with you because of your intelligence-"

"You don't hang with me at all," Hermione cut him off.

"You're right, I know that the three of us, we haven't been the best of friends lately-"

Hermione just scoffed as she cut him off once again. "Best of friends, don't make me laugh, we haven't even been _friends_, let alone the best of friends."

Harry was silent before he responded, "Hermione, you know, this would go a lot easier if you stopped interrupting me every second."

Hermione just huffed and leaned back in her seat, a sign that she was giving him the floor to speak. Harry looked at the ground nervously before opening his mouth,

"Ron and I, we feel really bad about what went down between us; the two of us are really, really sorry for how we've been ignoring and avoiding you for the past few weeks. We do not want our friendship to be over, because you mean so much to us. Honestly, we weren't even thinking at all and we're sorry for the way we treated you, we didn't realize just how badly we were hurting our friendship." Harry put his hand to his hair, unconsciously ruffling it around, a sure sign that he was nervous. "There is no excuse for our actions and how we went about things, all we ask is for your forgiveness." He looked Hermione right in the eye as he paused before continuing. "We will never hurt you again if you can find it in your heart to forgive us. We understand that it will take some time for you to trust us again. What we did was inexcusable and all we care about is you 'Mione. You're always there for us, helping us out of tight spots. Ron and I miss your friendship, the fun we would have and the laughter we shared, being there for one another. You've been there for me through thick and thin with the whole Voldemort ordeal, and I treated you in such a crappy way after everything that you have done for me." He squirmed a little, his hand kept going to his hair, he was feeling so unsure of what he was saying, he didn't even know if Hermione was properly listening to him. He grabbed her hand so that he was sure that she was being attentive while he spoke. "Your friendship means more than anything to me. I've never really had a family until I met you and Ron, and I don't want to lose that, I can't lose what we have," He just had to play the family card. Hermione wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but Harry almost seemed to be on the verge of crying. "We're so sorry for ignoring you after you admitted your feelings for Malfoy. We want nothing more than to forgive and forget these past few weeks and go back to being friends. While we don't agree with your choice of Malfoy…"

Ron snorted and muttered: "That's the understatement of the year." Hermione glared at him sharply before returning her attention to Harry.

"As I was saying," Harry said, clearing his throat. "While we don't agree with Malfoy, we will stand by you, no matter what you choose to do. We're so sorry for everything that has happened between us 'Mione, we need you back in our lives, without you, the golden trio is really just a silver duo. Please forgive us," Harry apologized, he looked deep into her chocolate brown eyes so that she could determine for herself how sincere he was being.

Hermione just listened silently to the-boy-who-defeated-the-dark-lord. While he spoke she looked over at Ron quite a few times, who was looking at Harry and nodding along to everything that he said. She was silent when Harry finished. Not sure what she should say. She briefly wondered what it would have been like if Ron had apologized, and not Harry; probably just a simple: **we're sorry. **Harry had sounded like he'd written out a very long speech and practiced it for days before finally mustering up the courage to say it to her. Hermione gently took her hand back from the grasp of Harry and tapped her fingers on her thigh, lost in thought.

"Hermione?" Harry said, "Please say something, anything," he begged.

Hermione looked up at the two of them before speaking,

"How can I trust you? How can you promise that you'll never hurt me again? When you don't know what the future holds," she questioned quietly.

"You're right, we don't know what the future holds, and you're also right that we can't promise that we won't ever hurt you again, but we _can_ promise you that we won't ever intentionally hurt you again," he replied.

Hermione was lost in thought once again, that happened quite often to her seeing as how she was always thinking of one thing or another. She looked up at the two, bit her lip, but then she realized that she needed to get this off her chest.

"Have you noticed," She began slowly, unsure of how to phrase what she was about to say, "that we are always getting into fights? You two against me? Or you two against each other, with me stuck in the middle? Or one of you and I with me being left on my own?"

"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Ron.

Hermione stared at him before deciding that it was finally time, it was time for her to express how she felt. "First year, I tried to help you and it resulted in me almost dying because of a troll, even though it started our friendship. I almost _died_," she put emphasis on the dying part. "Second year, you never really fully thanked me for figuring out that the monster was a basilisk; I'm not jealous or upset about that, I just wish that my two 'best friends' were a bit more thankful towards me. I do all this research for you, and all it ends in me being called the Bookworm or the Know-it-all." Hermione squirmed a bit under the intense look that Harry and Ron were giving her, they were shocked by her confessions, and she wasn't even done yet. "Third year, you both argued with me. Harry, because I told Professor McGonagall about your firebolt and she took it away for a bit, I'm sorry for being worried about your health, but I was right, it was sent by Sirius Black," Harry started to interrupt, probably to say that Sirius was innocent, but Hermione held up a hand and cut him off. "Let me finish. Ron, you kept accusing Crookshanks of eating your beloved Scabbers when he never did anything and you just lost him, you kept picking fights with me over that! You also never apologized to me for that. I worked all by myself on trying to make sure nothing would happen to Buckbeak while the two of you were off doing Merlin knows what." That particular memory bothered Hermione because Buckbeak had still been deemed guilty; she had failed in trying to help him in the beginning. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Fourth year, neither of you truly cared for S.P.E.W even though it meant so much to me. Ronald, you were mad at Harry during this time, I did nothing wrong, I believed Harry without hesitation. I also helped you with your tasks for the tournament, and then as soon as the two of you forgave each other, I was cast off to the side again." She turned her gaze to Ron and pinned him to the couch with her glare - it was that intense. "You, Ronald, acted in such a childish manner pertaining to my relationship to Viktor. You got mad at me for being asked to the Yule ball by him and accepting. You also didn't bother to correct your mum when she treated me coldly because she believed I had something going on with Harry," Hermione stood up and started to pace, clearly agitated. "And I'm not going to bother talking about fifth and sixth year because I'm really just not in the mood to continue. But, do you notice? How unfairly I've been treated by my two so called _best friends_?" Hermione turned to look at the two of them; she put her hands on her hips, finished with what she had to say - for now.

"U-Uh I w-well-," Ron stammered.

"Hermione, we never knew you felt that way," said Harry gently, looking troubled at the pain that he was causing his best friend.

"Well, now you do, maybe if you paid more attention you would have realized it on your own," she curtly replied.

"Look, we're sorry for everything, you are such an amazing intelligent person and we really took that for granted. We miss our friendship and we really want you back, Hermione, please, we promise that we will make more of an effort, we'll stop excluding you so much," Harry apologized, he looked like he really meant it too.

"And I promise to stop getting involved in your love life, I just don't want to see you get hurt," mumbled Ron, as though he didn't really mean it, something that Hermione picked up on.

"Really, Ron? So if I was to start dating Draco, you would have no problem whatsoever with that? At all?" she said skeptically.

"Well, I wouldn't like it obviously, but if it makes you happy, I'll butt out, but if he hurts you in any way, then I take back my statement of not getting involved and I'll beat him to a bloody pulp," he replied very seriously. The corner of her mouth tugged a little.

"So will you please forgive us, Hermione?" Harry asked once again.

"OH WAIT!" cried Ron, "I almost forgot!" He waved his wand in a circular motion in the air and muttered _Orchideous. _A bouquet of lilies erupted from the end of his wand. He handed them to Hermione and said,

"I've been practicing that for a while now, you know, pretty proud of myself," he said with a cheeky grin.

After that wonderful display Hermione really had no choice but to forgive the two of them.

"Alright, I forgive you, but only because Ron put so much time and effort into actually learning a spell, besides I missed you guys too," she conceded.

Ron and Harry, overcome with joy jumped up and engulfed Hermione in a big hug. The Silver Duo was once again the Golden Trio._ Now, if only all things were this simple, _thought Hermione_._

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**Oh how adorable, they are friends again! Poor Hermione, carrying all that angst around with her all these years. At last she has let it out! So please review! I'm kind of sad because there are lot's of people reading this story, but many don't take the two seconds to drop a quick line :( Chapter nine will be up in a week! And I know that this chapter was pretty uninteresting, but the next few chapters will be better! :)**

**_Orchideous _is a spell that conjures a bouquet of flowers from the end of the caster's wand. The movement for this spell is to move wand in a circle in the air**

**Many thanks once again to my wonderfultastic Beta SoUsay234!**

_NOTE: So I said i'd be on vacation for about a week, turns out it is for the rest of August. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but please review. I said the story would be finished this summer, but that's just not going to happen seeing as how I am not at home and cannot write at the moment. I'm really sorry but I won't leave the story! That's a promise. I have the next 3 chapters written for this._


	9. Have fun in Hogsmeade!

**The characters and setting belong to JK, obviously :)**

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The second week of November, their first trip to Hogsmeade as seventh years, arrived. Hermione was glad that she would be getting a break from everything and just get a day to relax with her friends; it was always good to get away from their workload for a few hours.

Hermione woke bright and early on the morning of the trip, a bright sunny day, the birds were chirping, the sun was out, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful. Hermione knew that she was awake far before any of her friends, seeing as how it was only 7:30 in the morning. She put her hair up in a ponytail and got dressed quickly in a striped blue-and-silver sweater; black skinny-jeans and black boots that were perfect for November. While it was a beautiful day, there was still a bit of a chill that foreshadowed winter.

She grabbed her black scarf and silver gloves before going to the door. She would have worn her Gryffindor scarf but it clashed terribly with her outfit. Hermione opened her door quickly and peeked around it, she made sure the coast was clear and ran down the stairs before Malfoy could wake and stop her. She'd been avoiding him for the past week; she didn't want to talk to him, not yet at least. She felt that it was best if they put some distance between them, but only for a little bit.

She walked down to the Great Hall smiling brightly. She wasn't a morning person, but she had a feeling that this was going to be a good day, therefore she was as happy as a kid at the circus!

She sat down at the Gryffindor table. There were a few odd people scattered here and there. At the Slytherin table sat Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Greengrass, Greengrass and a few people whose names she couldn't remember. There were also a few third years, excited at the prospect of their first ever Hogsmeade trip, but no Malfoy. At the Ravenclaw table she saw Luna Lovegood, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil and Michael Corner, one of Ginny's many ex's. At the Hufflepuff table she saw Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Finally was her own table, other than the third years and various fourth, fifth and sixth years, there was no one there yet from her year.

She grabbed her copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_ and started to read. She was probably the only person in the school you could find who enjoyed reading her textbooks. She read them in her spare time. Hermione didn't even know how many times she'd read _Hogwarts: A History_, but she knew that it was a lot. She really enjoyed Potions, not as much as Arithmancy, of course, but it was definitely one of her top classes. It was a bit like muggle cooking really, just a lot more dangerous. You measured out ingredients, put them in a cauldron and mixed: just like cooking. She turned to page eight and started to read,

_The __**Elixir to Induce Euphoria **__is a sunshine-yellow potion that induces a sense of irrational happiness upon the drinker. Excessive singing and nose-tweaking are possible side-effects. Adding a sprig of peppermint to the potion during preparation helps to counterbalance these. The ingredients for the potion include__:__ Shrivelfig, porcupine quills, castor beans, and Wormwood._

Hermione really wanted to try and make that potion; she vowed to herself that if Snape ever gave them free reign to make whatever potion they chose, that would be the one for her. She wasn't depressed or anything, she'd just never made the potion before and she really wanted to try it.

"GOOD MORNING, HERMIONE!" shouted Ron as he sat down and helped himself to some flapjacks. He piled them onto his plate in no time flat; they were gone in even less. That boy could eat like Crabbe and Goyle when he wanted to, Hermione didn't know where all that food went on his lean figure; he was like a human trashcan, just devouring everything.

"Morning, guys, Ginny," she replied as she took a bite of her hash browns and flipped the page of her book. Her focus returned to the pages and she started to read about the _Draught of Living Death _on page ten.

_The __**Draught of Living Death **__is an extremely powerful sleeping potion. It sends the drinker into a deep trance that mimics the state of death. Ingredients needed__ are: __wormwood, asphodel, valerian roots, Sloth brain, and a single Sopop-"_

Hermione's attention was diverted from her book to her friends who seemed to be in a heated argument.

"Gin," said an exasperated Ron with food stuffed in his mouth, "You're not going to be a professional quidditch player!"

"I've seen her fly Ron, she flies really well, you know that," Harry spoke up, "We are all on the team together after all."

"Pray tell why you don't think I could ever go professional?" hissed Ginny, very angry; she didn't think she could get angrier at the moment…

"You're a girl!" Ron exclaimed... and then Ron had to go open his mouth and make her see red.

Hermione, just sitting there quietly staring at her friends, decided to join the conversation. She furrowed her eyebrows and spoke up. "What's your point?"

Ron just didn't seem to understand that the more he spoke, the deeper he dug that hole, Harry realized it, but being the amazing best friend that he was, decided not to speak, this was Ron's problem. Hermione and Ginny glared at him with an expression of such fury, that it would have made even Lucius Malfoy cringe. "Yes, _Ronald_, care to explain why my being a female is a problem?"

"W-well…" he stuttered, "I-it's just t-that, most teams are made up mainly of blokes."

"_What_ is your point," Ginny spat.

"Are girls not good enough for professional sports in your opinion?" Hermione continued the conversation.

Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice and smiled as he watched the girls gang up on Ron. Just another typical morning.

"You're saying there are no female players?" said Ginny as she stabbed her piece of sausage savagely with her fork. She popped it into her mouth and chewed. Then she spoke again, "Glynnis Griffiths, Gwendolyn Morgan, Gwenog Jones, Wilda Griffiths, Valmai Morgan-" Ginny started to rapidly list the names of famous _female_ Quidditch players.

"N-No!" Ron cried, "That's not it at all! I just mean that most teams consist of male players!"

"Just keep digging Ron," laughed Harry as he mimicked a shovel digging a hole. Ron opened his mouth again, then he did the first intelligent thing he'd ever donewith his mouth, he closed it. That didn't last long though,

"Okay Gin, I'm sorry, you are an absolutely brilliant quidditch player and I just don't want you to play because it's dangerous," he claimed.

"And it's not dangerous when I play chaser? Here at school? And need I remind you that I am the best chaser on the team?" she retorted.

"Well, I'm sorry! But as your older brother and the only one left at this school, like it or not, it is my job to care for you," Ron said stubbornly.

Hermione just knew that this argument was about to blow into something much bigger so she made a quick decision and stopped the fight before it could begin. Ginny hated how over-protective her brothers were. If she was dating someone, or even looked at them in a certain way, one of her brothers would send a letter to all the others, including Charlie who was in Romania and they would have a little talk with her at Christmas about the importance of staying away from nasty little boys.

"Alright then, we are done with our breakfasts, the day is beautiful, let's get going to Hogsmeade!" she said enthusiastically.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny just stared at her as if she'd grown two heads. She started to feel uncomfortable under their gaze,

"Okay then, be all sad and depressed," she muttered. That earned her a smile from Ginny who then proceeded to jump out of her seat and exclaim:

"To Hogsmeade!"

She marched down the aisle and a quick glance behind her told her that her friends were following her. She opened the doors leading out of the Great Hall and the quartet made their way to the entrance. They passed many students that were just waking up and making their way down the stairs. They'd be some of the first in Hogsmeade, which was always a good thing since you wouldn't have to wait in such long lines.

Filch was standing at the oak doors, checking off the names of students who had permission forms for Hogsmeade as they left. Filch took extra long probing his stick around Harry and company, that man had serious issues.

The four laughed, and talked, and made fun of Filch as they walked the lane towards Hogsmeade. They passed Hagrid as they walked and they shouted,

"Hello Hagrid!"

" 'Ello! Yer goin' ter 'ogsmeade I reckon?" he asked.

"Yup! What're you doing?" asked Hermione as she noticed that Hagrid had a bag full of plants slung over his shoulder.

"Snape asked me ter brin' 'im some things fer Potions. Don' know what fer o'course," he happily replied, "Well, off ye go! I got things ter do," he waved a final goodbye and then walked away.

"Oh, ingredients! I hope we get to make some really complex potions!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Only Hermione," muttered Ron as he shook his head.

The walk into Hogsmeade was very enjoyable. It was a bit chilly though and everyone tightly wrapped their scarves around their necks and lower faces. When they finally reached Hogsmeade they all sighed in relief as they sprouted off names of where they each wanted to go.

"Tomes and Scrolls, books!" Hermione shouted, obviously

"Honeydukes, chocolate!" yelled Harry.

"Zonkos and Honeydukes!" Ron cried

"Gladrags Wizardwear! I need new gloves!" screamed Ginny.

They started to argue about where they should go when Hermione, being the level-headed person that she was, took control of the situation.

"Alright, you guys! Let's base this on where we will spend most of our time. First we'll go to Ginny's store, then we will go to my store, followed by Ron's store and lastly, Harry's store, then we'll all slip into the Three Broomsticks for a quick pick me up Butterbeer. Sound good?"

"Yes mum," the other three confirmed, Hermione hit them all over the head.

They headed towards Gladrags and as soon as they entered Ginny squealed in delight.

"Oh, Hermione! We _have_ to get our Yule Ball dresses!" she exclaimed.

"Gin! Calm down," Hermione chuckled at her friend who was obviously excited seeing as she ran towards the dress racks. Ron and Harry just groaned knowing they should have never gone in a clothing store with Ginny.

"Oh my Merlin. Look at this one! Hermione! I want a silver or pink one! Nothing red, clashes with my hair and all, but you could wear red! No wait, too Gryffindor, I GOT IT! Hermione you're wearing green! Emerald green to be precise! Oh that's my best color, but I'll let you wear it just this once! This is so exciting, Hermione check th-"

Hermione cut out Ginny's ramblings while she spared a glance at the dresses that she didn't want to spend today looking at. Especially since Ron and Harry were here and she knew how much they hated looking at women's clothing.

"Gin, as Head Girl I guess I should inform you that at the beginning of December we have another Hogsmeade trip reserved for Yule ball shopping. Madam Malkin's and Twilfitt and Tatting's will be here too," Hermione said.

"Really?" Ginny squealed.

"Who are you guy's going with?" asked Ron, joining the conversation.

"Oh, nobody…yet," said Ginny as innocently as she could. Hermione knew that she wanted to go with Blaise but that wouldn't happen unless he asked her first. Until he did, there was no reason to get Ron all worked up. Ron narrowed his eyes on his little sister prepared to ask her what she meant by that when Harry swooped in and saved the day, just like he did best.

"Ron, who are you going with?"

"Oh, um… nobody, there's nobody I want to go with... yeah... heheh," Ron nervously replied. Ginny picked up on this and started to question him.

"Ronald Weasley, who is she?" she demanded while picking up a pair of sapphire blue mittens.

"Uh, who's who?" he replied looking anywhere but the occupants of the room.

"You know what I'm asking, you like someone, who is she?" she asked as she tossed the gloves and picked up a pair of purple ones.

"I don't like anyone!" he replied, looking at the ground.

"Well, she's not in Gryffindor because you wouldn't be so nervous about that, she's not in Ravenclaw because you don't even talk to anyone in that house, it's not a Hufflepuff because all the female sixth years in that house are dating someone. That leaves Slytherin," she continued acting like he hadn't spoken.

"Eep," Ron squeaked, which proved to Harry and Hermione that Ginny was right.

"Not Millicent Bulstrode obviously. Not Tracey Davis, she's dating Seamus Finnigan. Daphne Greengrass is dating Theodore Nott, so not her. That leaves one person," it dawned on Ginny. Ron knew where she was going with this, and he could not, for the love of Merlin, he could not let her say her name.

"HARRY WANTS TO TAKE LUNA!" he yelled. Hermione and Ginny swiveled to stare at Harry, they never knew he had a thing for Luna.

"Thanks, Ron," Harry grumbled.

"Harry James Potter," scolded Hermione, "why didn't you tell us that you like Luna?"

"It…slipped my mind," he claimed.

"Oh right, I'm sure," snorted Ginny, "have you asked her yet?"

"No… not yet," he answered

"Well what are you waiting for? Ask her before someone else does!" Hermione insisted.

Ron had an expression of relief on his face, he was happy that the spotlight was off of him, for now.

Ginny paid for her gloves, beautiful emerald green mittens and the quartet left the clothing store. Harry and Ron sighed and took deep breaths of the fresh air as though they'd been stuck in the store for days not minutes. They made their way to Tomes and Scrolls and as soon as they stepped across the threshold, Hermione took deep breaths of the air that smelt musky with a hint of yellowing pages of stories growing old. The smell of books full of knowledge was in the air, it smelt like a forest full of old trees where it was peaceful and there was no evil. Well, at least that's how Hermione would describe it; Ron, Harry, and Ginny described the smell of the bookstore as something old. Hermione always felt at home in a bookstore, or even just anywhere where books surrounded her. There was something calming to her about having books full of history and interesting facts around her. Hermione scoured the store looking for new books that she didn't already own. As she did this, the other three went over to the books of quidditch, the only books that could possibly interest them. They turned the pages of _Quidditch teams of Britain and England_ while discussing who would win the league championship this year. Ron was rooting for the Chudley Cannons, of course. Ginny was all for the Holyhead Harpies, the only all female quidditch team in the league, and Harry was partial to Puddlemere United, but that was only because his former captain, Oliver Wood, played as reserve keeper for them.

Hermione picked up a copy of _Rune Dictionary_ and added it to her small pile of books. She decided to get her Christmas present shopping done while she was there and thoughtfully picked out books for her friends. She got _The Beaters' Bible_ and _Beating the Bludgers- A study of defensive strategies in Quidditch _for Fred and George. She got Ron a limited edition copy of _Flying with the Cannons_. _Men Who Love Dragons Too Much _was for Hagrid, Hermione hoped he'd use it to curb his slightly unhealthy obsession with the beasts. _Cooking the Muggle Way _for Mrs. Weasley._ My life as a muggle _for Mr. Weasley. _Flesh-Eating trees of the world_ for Neville. _Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do with them Now You've Wised Up _was for Harry, call it ironic, but it was a good book for him. Luna was a tricky one, she believed in all sorts of strange things and Hermione didn't know what to get her. She doubted there were books about nargles so she picked a random book and got her _E. Nesbit's Fairy Tales. _That left Ginny; Hermione didn't know what to get her so she decided to just get her present in December so that she'd have more time to think about it. Hermione went to pay for her books, a total of 9 galleons 15 sickles and 9 knuts. She shrunk her purchases and put them in her pockets so that they would not attract the attention of her friends.

She walked over to the Quidditch books where she knew they would be and told them she was finished. Ron looked shocked as he blurted, "But, where are your books? You usually buy loads!

Hermione just stared amusedly at him, "It's called the _Diminuendo _charm Ron."

"Right, I knew that, I was just testing you," he nodded.

They walked into Zonkos and Ron started to look at the different practical jokes. Hermione didn't care much for this store, she didn't have time for things of such insignificance. As Head Girl, it was her job to make sure that students did not exploit the objects they bought from here, so you can understand if she didn't particularly like them much with all the trouble they caused. They were nothing like the items from Fred and George's store, but they were still a nuisance. Ron and Harry each bought some sugar quills and Hiccough sweets that they wanted to use on somebody and then they left for Honeydukes. Honeydukes was the store that they all wanted to go to - everybody loved candy after all.

Acid Pops, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Blood-flavored lollipops, Chocoballs, Chocolate Frogs, Cockroach Clusters, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Exploding bonbons, Fizzing Whizzbees, Fudge Flies, Ice Mice, Jelly Slugs, Liquorice Wands, Pepper Imps, Peppermint Toad, Shock-o-Choc, Spindle's Lick'O'Rish Spiders, Sugar Quills, Toothflossing Stringmints, Crystallised pineapple, Toffees, Pink Coconut Ice, Creamy chunks of nougat, it was bliss. Hermione had dentists for parents, so she seldom had a chance to eat any type of sweet. Going to Honeydukes were such a reward for her, she got to binge out on all the sweets she wanted and her parents were none the wiser.

The four friends stayed in that store for nearly an hour, other students came and left but the four were still in there. They all wanted a bit of everything so they eventually decided that they would split everything that they bought with each other when they got back to the school and were in the comforts of their common room. With that decided, they paid for their purchases and left.

"Well, now that we're done with our personal shopping, who's up for the Three Broomsticks?" asked Harry.

"Yeah!" the others hastily agreed, it was getting a bit chilly.

They marched towards the popular establishment. They opened the door and saw a lot of students there. Guess everyone was awake now, maybe they shouldn't have spent so much time in Honeydukes. They passed Neville who was sitting with Luna and Colin, when Luna waved hello to Harry, he blushed and almost tripped over his feet, headfirst into Goyle. That would have been pretty awkward. They found a table near the back that was near a window and they sat themselves down. Harry volunteered to go get the Butterbeer and the others waited patiently for him to return. After about ten minutes he came back and sat their Butterbeers down in front of them.

"Sorry it took so long, there was a lineup," he apologized.

"That's alright, Harry," assured Hermione as she took a sip of the delicious beverage.

They all smiled and laughed as they talked about Professor Snape. He wasn't as much of an overgrown bat anymore… but still. He didn't take points from Gryffindor needlessly anymore, he was almost fair. This was probably because he was no longer being watched by the children of deatheaters who could have told their precious lord about him. He even awarded Hermione points every now and then. The first time he had done so, the entire room was shocked into silence, Professor Snape, giving the smartest student at Hogwarts well-deserved points? It just wasn't heard of. What was even crazier was when he took points off of Blaise for being ten minutes late to class. Granted, he would have done it to any of the Gryffindors, but he had never taken points from his own house before. Thank Merlin for the house of Slytherin that Crabbe and Goyle were not in advanced-potions, imagine the points they would get deducted, their house would be in the negatives! Snape had changed, he no longer had greasy hair, it was always combed usually pulled back in a ponytail. He also wore color often; no longer did he always wear the black robes that everyone was used to seeing, even if it was only wore dark greens and blues, it was still _color_! He was all in all, a much better person to be around. The only thing he'd never changed about himself was the fact that he never took points from Draco Malfoy. Malfoy could be as late as he wanted to class, Snape would merely glance at him before continuing the lesson. Guess it had its perks to be the godson of the Potions Master. Speaking of Malfoy…

* * *

Draco walked past the Three Broomsticks with Pansy and Blaise. They'd just spent two hours looking at clothes for Pansy and a wand-holster for Blaise. All Draco wanted to do now was take a break from all the walking. Pansy was chattering away with Blaise, while Draco amused himself with his thoughts. They walked into the pub and Draco scoured the place with his eyes. _Gotcha_, he thought as he saw Granger laughing with her friends at a table near the wall. The three Slytherins walked towards Madam Rosmerta and ordered their Butterbeers. Blaise got a shot of firewhiskey put in his, normally that was not allowed, but Blaise was _acquainted_ with this particular pub and they usually gave him what he wanted. Draco who wasn't in the mood for alcohol politely declined as Pansy just wrinkled her nose at the offer of a shot. Draco maneuvered his way through the crowds before arriving at a table directly behind the Gryffindorks. He sat across from Blaise and Pansy in a way that when he looked past Pansy's head, he could see Hermione clearly.

He ignored his friends' conversation as he looked at her. She looked up as she felt someone staring at her and she met the eyes of Draco. She dropped her head quickly as if she was afraid his gaze would burn her. He furrowed his eyebrows at her. She'd been avoiding him all week, and it was very obvious to him. She was the last to arrive in class and always made sure that Pothead or Weaslebee saved her a seat, she also never left without the two of them because he knew that she knew he didn't want to approach her while she was with her friends. She was always long gone by the time he woke in the mornings and he never noticed her come in either which led him to believe that either she came at a very late time, or she didn't come at all. If she saw him walking down the same corridor as her, she mumbled an excuse to whomever she was with and darted away in the other direction. It was really starting to bother him because all he wanted to do was apologize to her for calling her _that_ word, but she was making it obscenely difficult. But no longer, tomorrow he _would_ have his say, and she _would_ listen, and he knew just the way to do it…

* * *

**SOO, that was a long chapter wasn't it? Please review to let me know what you think and if there's something you think the story is missing. Thanks for reading, and thank you to my lovely beta, see you in a week!**

**PS: I'm still on vacation but I managed to get some computer time! Sorry it's a day late, I honestly don't know how often I can update at the moment.**

**PLEASEPLEASE Review! :)**


	10. Mummy! You came to love me!

**The wonderful world of Harry potter belongs to J.K Rowling. :)**

* * *

_**Monday**_

Draco'd just finished writing his letter to Narcissa Malfoy and was giving it a quick look through,

_Dear Mother,_

_I find myself to be in a bit of a predicament. There is this girl__,__ you see__,__ and I find that I fancy her. I want to tell you who she is, but I'm afraid you might not approve, and you know how much your opinion means to me. Before you ask__:__ no__,__ it isn't Pansy, so you can put away all those wedding plans I know you've got ready to go. This girl, she is stunning and she is definitely intelligent and__,__ as far as I know, she could very well be the next minister for magic. That leads me to why I'm writing to you and asking for your help. I've made a mistake mother, a terrible mistake that I don't know how to solve__.__ I'm stuck. Last week, my big mouth got me in trouble. You know that I'm not one for apologizing to others, even when I know that I am wrong, but this time, I __have__ to apologize, there is no other way around this. The thing is I insulted her, badly. I mocked her heritage and in other words, her family. I don't know what to do and I care for her a lot, the only ones who know are her and Blaise. What should I do Mother? I need your infinite wisdom!_

_Your Loving Son,_

_Draco _

He nodded to himself, happy with what he'd written. He also complimented his mother in his letter, knowing that she would be more willing to help him - not that she wouldn't anyways. Narcissa Malfoy _adored_ her son; she would go to the ends of the earth for him. She was the reason he'd decided to fight for the light side. She slowly noticed her husband descending further into the darkness, she loved him dearly, but he had changed, he was no longer the man she once married. She didn't want that life for the pride and joy of her life. She'd convinced him to go to Dumbledore for help, she knew that the Dark Lord was taking an interest in the youngest Malfoy, so she had done what she thought was best. Draco only hoped that his mother wouldn't be able to figure out who the girl he fancied was. While Narcissa didn't care for blood purity anymore, he wasn't sure if she'd be okay with him being involved with someone who had muggle blood.

He closed the letter with the Malfoy seal and walked to the Owlery where his owl _Midnight _resided. _Midnight _was a jet-black eagle owl that had a dark blue sheen. The Malfoy family owned various owls, but Midnight was his.

Draco stepped into the Owlery and held his arm out, waiting. Midnight flew from her perch and settled herself nicely on Draco's arm. She hooted affectionately as she pecked her owner in a way that said: _F__inally you come to see me! _Draco stroked her feathers before reaching into his pocket for a treat. He handed the treat to his owl before apologizing for not coming earlier. He didn't know if _Midnight_ understood him, but his owl always did seem very intelligent to him since the beginning. After he had gobbled up his treat, Draco reached into his pocket once more to retrieve the letter. He held it out to Midnights beak and he took it before cocking his head at Draco.

"Please take this to my mother at the manor," he murmured. Midnight hooted once more before he took off through the window. Draco watched his owl fly before he was nothing more than a speck in the horizon. He sighed, hoping his mother would owl him back soon before turning around, ready to go back to his room. He halted in his steps as he noticed Hermione Granger standing with her own owl staring at him. She just stared at him before coming out of her daze, sending off her owl and quickly rushing down the stairs exiting the Owlery. Draco snapped out of it and rushed after her, maybe this was a sign, he had to talk to her!

"Hermione!" He yelled, running down the stairs, "I'm sorry! Please just listen to me!" He stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around, but Hermione Granger was gone. He shook his head, upset with himself for not catching her and he skulked allthe way back to his dorm, not noticing the pair of chocolate eyes staring at him from behind the statue of a gargoyle.

_**Tuesday**_

Draco woke with a groan, he wished there was no classes that day, all he wanted to do was sleep. Then he smiled; he had potions first period, which meant he might just get to do that. He got dressed and looked at his watch; there was no time for breakfast if he wanted to be on time for class. Good thing he didn't care if he was on time or not. He went to the Great Hall where Blaise was just leaving.

"Well, obviously you're going to be late," he muttered.

Draco just smirked because he knew they both knew that if Blaise ever was late he'd get points deducted. Draco sat down and piled some pancakes onto his plate. He noticed that no one else was in the Great Hall since they were all good little children who went to class on time. He finished his stack of pancakes and washed it down with a glass of pumpkin juice. He grabbed his satchel and left. He marched to the dungeons where the Potions classroom was located. He fixed his hair before opening the door. As usual, everyone turned in their seats to stare at whomever dared to interrupt Snape's class. Once they saw it was him, the Gryffindors rolled their eyes and returned their attention to the lesson. Snape gave him a look and Draco shrugged before looking for a place to sit. Blaise was sitting with Pansy, probably as punishment for being later he was leaving Draco to sit by himself. There was a table near the back of the room that had no one sitting in it, but then he saw that the seat next to Hermione was empty and she was trying to hide herself so that he wouldn't notice her. _Too late for that_, he snorted and placed his bag down on the floor next to her before sliding into his seat.

Hermione scooted over and turned her seat so that she wasn't in contact with him at all, giving their professor her undivided attention; but he knew that he was getting to her. He got out a piece of paper and wrote down:_Will you listen to me?_ Before turning it into an origami dragon and flicking it to her. He saw her look at it and furrow her eyebrows before she disintegrated it with her wand. Draco just stared at her in shock, well, wasn't she just a violent little person?

He tried once more and this time she sighed before opening it. She read the note and this time she set it on fire before she vanished the evidence. Draco wondered how Snape never saw a fire in his own classroom; he guessed that his ripe old age of thirty-seven was finally getting to him. Draco turned to face Snape to listen to what he was saying,

"The beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the minds, and ensnaring the senses," Draco dropped his head to his desk cutting out the sound of his Godfathers voice, he was just talking about the beauty of potions again, something he knew his students hated listening to so he tended to repeat it about once a month. Draco proceeded to slip into slumber as the rest of the students listened to the Potions Master drone.

Draco eventually woke when he heard the stirrings of the class; he looked around to notice the class was empty, except for Hermione and Snape. Draco slowly put his things away while listening to the two talk.

"Miss Granger, I wish to speak to you about your last essay," Snape drawled.

"Oh Professor! I'm sorry, I knew I should have added more on the effects of mandrake juice being added to a calming potion, I'm sorry! It's just that-" Snape rolled his eyes and cut off Hermione in what he knew was bound to be a speech,

"Miss Granger, your essay was a perfect _Outstanding_. It is without a doubt, the best essay that I have ever received in my time as Potions Master,"

Hermione just stared at him in shock; she was finally receiving proper praise after all her years of hard work. Draco smiled, he knew that one day Snape would have to acknowledge the brightest witch of the year.

"Thank you Professor, that really means a lot to me," Hermione smiled.

Snape just grunted before telling her to go off to her next class. She turned around and squeaked when she saw that Draco was still there. She practically ran from the room and Draco prepared to follow her to get her to listen when his godfather called him,

"Draco, why do you insist on disrupting my class?" Draco gritted his teeth.

"Sir, I woke up late, I apologize,"

"Draco, you know that I'm not going to take points from you, but try to be on time next time, it's not fair to the other students when I insist on not talking points from you but I do from them," he implored. _Told you Snape was a changed man, fairness shmairness_ Draco thought.

"Yes sir," before rushing from the room, once again missing his chance to speak to Hermione.

_**Wednesday**_

Draco was looking through the Owls that were flying about the Great Hall, when he noticed that his owl wasn't there, he dropped his head in disappointment. It had been three days, but his mother still hadn't replied to him. Blaise noticed his friend's disappointment and he slung his arm around him,

"What's got you down mate?" he asked.

"Nothing," he received a curt response. Blaise frowned.

"I got news mate," he tried.

"Don't care," Draco replied.

"Pansy likes someone," he tried again, "Someone who isn't you." Draco's head shot up, well, that sure had gotten his attention. He turned his head to look at Pansy who was sitting across from them, glaring at Blaise.

"You gotta do, what you gotta do," Blaise replied, not at all affected by the glare that could melt ice.

"Pansy, I thought you liked me?" Draco asked.

Pansy snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "Oh Draco, that was _ages_ ago, why like someone that isn't ever going to like you back?"

Draco was shocked, "B-But," he spluttered, "Who _do_ you like then?"

"That's none of your business," she replied taking a sip of her tea as she turned the pages of _Witch Weekly._

"I think it is my business since you're one of my best friends Pans," he stared at her.

"You wouldn't approve, so therefore I am not telling you," she glued her eyes to a page in the magazine that featured dresses. She still needed one for the ball.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, "Pansy, tell me who it is."

"What do you think? The spring green silk dress, or this amethyst mermaid dress?" She asked the two blokes. They just stared at her before Blaise answered,

"Well, the green one would bring out the shine in your hair, the purple one would just make you seem a little dull,"

Draco stared at his male best friend as if he'd gone a little crazy.

"Since when do you know anything about fashion mate?"

Blaise shrugged his shoulders. "Just because you don't go shopping with your mother, doesn't mean I don't. Mine drags me with her wherever she goes and forces me to help her pick out 'proper dresses'. After a while, you just develop this kind of eye for fashion I guess,"

Pansy beamed at Blaise, "I absolutely agree! Besides, this dress will bring out the 'Slytherin' in me!" She wrote a letter to the dress shop ordering that dress in her size before sending it off with her owl. "There, now that that's done, it's time for class," and she jumped out of her seat and left before Draco could remember to ask her who she liked.

Blaise and Draco walked to Defense against the Dark Arts where their teacher awaited. The position was no longer cursed and they'd had the same teacher for the past two years now. Professor Lupin was back. He'd had a son, named Teddy with his wife Nymphadora. The two of them had shared the position the year before, but then Nymphadora got pregnant and she had to quit to look after their son. Draco always felt uncomfortable that year because she was his cousin, a cousin that he had never spoken too. He felt bad about it because he wanted to know his family, half-blood or not.

They took their seats at the table behind Pansy and waited for the class to begin. Professor Lupin looked up from his papers and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Today, we will be partnering up and dueling," he announced. The class all looked really excited, this was the first time they would be getting the chance this year.

"I have already made the pairs, based on how well you have been doing in this class, and what your current level of skill is, this way you are not severely outmatched,"

"Please listen carefully for your names: Zabini, Potter. Nott, Greengrass. Crabbe, Goyle. Dunbar, Finnegan. Brown, Thomas. Longbottom, Patil. Bulstrode, Davis. Parkinson, Weasley…" Draco saw Pansy blush at this and he narrowed his eyes before hearing, "Granger, Malfoy." He positively beamed at being paired with Hermione and he saw her with a look of horror on her face as her friends stared sympathetically at her. He grunted, if they should feel sorry for anyone it was him; Hermione Granger with a wand against him was not a good thing. Everyone got up to sit beside their partner and Draco moved over to Hermione because he knew there was no way in hell _she _would get up to join _him_.

"Alright, now that you know your partners, the way this will work is that we will be doing these duels one at a time. I knew many of you are partnered with someone you may dislike," he stared at Hermione, "and by doing these one by one, I can make sure that no harm will come to you. It will be easier than me darting about the class trying to keep an eye on all eighteen of you. It was also help me to assess your dueling levels."

"First duel: Zabini Potter!" The two got up and prepared to face off. Neither hated the other, but each wanted to win. Zabini started the duel with a quick _Furnuculus_ that was on target as it hit Potter. Draco smirked as Potter was covered in painful boils. "_Finite Incantantem_," he muttered as he attempted to blast Blaise with an _Expelliarmus _which Blaise quickly sidestepped. The duel continue like this for at least ten minutes before Potter got in a lucky _Expelliarmus_ that Blaise never saw coming. He saw Blaise grunt before him and Potter shake hands and resume their seats.

"Tough luck mate," Draco whispered.

The duels continued for the next hour with Greengrass, Dunbar, Thomas, Longbottom (surprisingly), and Davis emerging victorious. There was no winner in the Crabbe vs. Goyle match as each of them managed to knock themselves out somehow and were sent to the hospital wing. It was now the second last match, Weasley vs. Parkinson. Draco hoped that Pansy would wipe the floor with that weasel, but he wasn't sure, he had a sneaking and horrible suspicion that the guy Pansy liked, was none other than the weasel himself.

Pansy calmly stood across from Weasley. "Ladies First," Weasley said, trying to be a gentleman. Pansy smirked before shooting him with an _Expelliarmus_, Ron shouted _Protego_ quickly before shooting a _Petrificus Totalus _at Pansy. For some strange reason, Pansy wasn't able to dodge it and she dropped to the ground with a loud _thud. _Ron turned pale before running to her side.

"Oh, Merlin! Pansy, I'm sorry!" Pansy shot up like a mole in the whack-a-mole game before hitting Ron with a _Stupefy_. She kicked his wand away from him and was declared the winner. The Slytherins cheered for her and she Rennervated him before helping him up.

"But I thought you were down!" he blurted.

"Slytherin," was all she replied, smirking. The two of them stared at each other before Ron decided to take a big chance,

"Would you like to go to the ball with me Pansy?" he asked, staring into her sapphire blue eyes.

Pansy blushed before she smiled and said, "Thought you'd never ask," Ron grinned before they both heard an_ ahem_. "Now that you two have gotten that out of your systems, please take your seats so that we may begin the last duel," Professor Lupin cut in. The two of them blushed before returning to their seats.

"Malfoy, Granger!" Lupin called. Hermione got up but Draco stayed rooted to his seat, staring at his best friend in horror, she avoided his eyes and he only got up when Blaise pushed him.

He was still shocked as he stood across from Hermione in the middle of the classroom with all the students surrounding him. He pushed Pansy from his mind as he faced Granger. He would need all his concentration for this and it would not do to dwell on Pansy just now.

The two stood staring at each other, both of them in battle stance, waiting for the other to make their move. Draco wasn't going to attack first, that was not the way to get Hermione to forgive him. Hermione realized this and she attacked.

"_BOMBARDA_!" She shouted at him, Draco used his skills as a seeker to dart out of the way quickly. _So, she's trying to hurt me huh,_ he thought. He struck her with an _Alarte Ascendare_ that she blocked with a _Protego_. She followed up with an _Expelliarmus _which Draco ducked and he shot back with_ Aqua Eructo_. He controlled the stream of water and it landed on Hermiones hair. She spluttered as she wiped the water from her eyes, she quickly dried herself off as she glared at him, _Uh Oh, shouldn't have gone for the hair,_ he gulped.

"_AVIS OPPUNGO!" _Hermione shrieked and she sent yellow canaries at Draco. They pecked and clawed at his skin and clothes and he only managed to vanish them before being struck with a _Furnuculus_ from Hermione. He got rid of the boils quickly before transfiguring a quill into a large solid rock to put in between them so that he could think of what to do. He heard Professor Lupin mutter "Impressive transfiguration," and the class whooped and clapped at this spectacular duel. He heard Hermione snarl as she cast _Protego_ around the students before blasting the rock with a _Bombarda_. Draco protected himself as the path cleared and he saw an angry Hermione. Draco cast a quick charm that changed her robes into Slytherin ones and he heard the Slytherins in the room laugh. Hermione changed her outfit before hitting Draco with the same spell and changed his clothes into a dress and heels. The Gryffindors burst into laughter as Draco wobbled on the 5-inch heels. He fell as he thought, _how the hell do women wear these!_ He changed his outfit back before rolling out of the way of Hermione's bat-bogey hex. He jumped up and whirled _Diffindo_ at Hermione, effectively tearing her blouse. She turned red as all the males in the room catcalled, Harry and Ron told them all to shut it. Draco smirked before he widened his eyes as Hermione cast_ Diffindo _at his pants. Hermione returned the smirk and repaired her shirt. Draco stared at his pants in horror. Everyone in the room laughed, even Hermione paused to laugh. He was wearing his choo-choo train boxers that his mother got for him. He was embarrassed that his mother picked them out, but they were comfy! Of course he'd wear them, but now he wished he hadn't as all his classmates laughed at him, even the Professor was laughing at him!

Draco turned bright red as he fixed his pants and glared at Hermione who had tears in her eyes from the sight of him. While she laughed Draco hit her with _Impedimenta_ which she wasn't able to block. The duel had now been going for half an hour and Hermione decided to end it. She cast the disillusionment charm on herself and she turned invisible. The class ooh'd as Draco panicked. He couldn't see her and therefore had no idea what she would do. He noticed it too late but he was hit from the left with a _Flipendo _that threw him into the wall, hard. _Well isn't this familiar_, he thought as he remembered that day in the common room. He sat up slowly and saw Hermione looking at him triumphantly. He took this as his chance to speak,

"Hermione! I'm sorry for everything! Please forgive me!" Everybody in the class except for her and Blaise stared at him in confusion.

"No," she replied as she got ready to hit him with another spell.

"Please! I didn't mean it! It was a mistake!" For some reason, this angered Hermione and she cast a spell. Next thing he knew, everybody was falling to the floor laughing, and he was staring up at a huge Hermione and classroom from the floor, she turned him into a bloody ferret!

Professor Lupin chuckled, as he declared Hermione the winner. Class was dismissed and Draco realized no one was bothering to change him back. Hermione looked over her shoulder and waved at him as she left the class with Potter and Weasley who were congratulating her and praising her brilliance, he then saw his two best mates come over to him. Blaise picked him up while Pansy stared at him in delight,

"Awe! Isn't ickle Drakie cute!" she cooed. Blaise laughed as he changed his best friend back into a human. Draco felt dizzy and he was beyond mortified. That was the second time he'd been turned into a ferret! The trio left the class as Pansy and Blaise laughed at him. Hermione had to speak to him, he had to stop this anger of hers.

_**Thursday**_

News had spread about how Hermione Granger had turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret. Everywhere they went people praised Hermione and laughed at Draco. He hated it. Surprisingly, he wasn't mad at Hermione though, he deserved it in a way; he shouldn't have tried to apologize in the middle of a battle.

His mother still hadn't replied to him and he was really upset. He honestly thought that she would help him, guess not. Classes had just ended for the day and Draco was heading back to his room. He skulked all the way there because he still hadn't managed to speak to Hermione. After yesterday he was determined to make things better between them, he didn't want to go the rest of the year worrying that he was going to be turned into a ferret as soon as he turned around. That was an unhealthy way to live life. Besides, they had to work on their head duties and it was difficult with her avoiding him. He turned a corner and he bumped into the object of his thoughts. She hadn't noticed it was him because she was sprawled on the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried, picking up her books, "I didn't see yo-" she stopped her apology as she noticed a pale hand streak into her view to help her pick up her books. She looked up and met the eyes of Draco. She glared.

"Nevermind, I'm _not_ sorry," she huffed as she grabbed her books. Draco sighed as he stood up. Hermione also stood and held out her hand. Draco gave her the books he picked up and grabbed her wrist, Hermione gasped.

"Let go of me! You-you _fiend_!"

Draco chuckled at her use of words, "Hermione, please let's talk."

"No," replied Hermione as she tried to twist her wrist away from the grasp of Draco. He held on.

"Please! Look, I'm really sorry about everything! I didn't mean to say that word. I feel awful, and I don't want you to be mad at me, Please forgive me!" He begged. Hermione seemed to consider it, and Draco's hopes raised like a tsunami.

"No," she answered. The tsunami crashed and Draco with it.

"Please!" he asked.

"Ahh, let me think abou- no," she said as she managed to get her wrist back and march off in the opposite direction. Draco groaned as he slid to the floor. A first year Slytherin came up to him and Draco glared.

"What?" he snarled

"S-sorry, s-sir, Pr-Professor Snape a-asks y-you to come t-to his o-office," the first year squeaked as he ran off.

Draco sighed before dragging himself to his feet and heading off in the direction of the dungeons, the idea of a nice quiet evening alone in his room by himself, disturbed. As he walked, he wondered what Snape could want of him, he hadn't asked him to come to his office all year, he knew he wasn't in trouble. He hadn't done anything wrong all year. Maybe he wanted to join the crowds and laugh at Malfoy 'the Bouncing ferret'. He knocked on the door to his office and heard his voice mutter, "Enter."

Draco opened the door and saw the Potions master sitting with a cup of black sugarless tea sitting in front of him, he also noticed someone sitting in the large armchair across from him. He didn't know who it was until they turned around.

"Mother!" Draco's eyes widened. Narcissa Malfoy smiled at her only son before walked to meet him with her arms held open. Draco walked into her embrace and hugged his mother tightly, he had missed her.

"Draco, Darling, you look thin! Biscuit?" she said as she eyes him and led him to the seats. Draco sat down beside her and rejected the sweet.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, replying to your letter of course!" she said as she took a sip of her tea.

"But, you could have just sent a letter, Mother!" Draco told her, "You didn't have to come all the way out here."

"And miss the opportunity to see my little Dragon and catch up with an old friend? Never." Draco saw the corner of Severus Snape's mouth lift as his mother called him her Dragon. Draco glowered at his godfather.

"Now, Draco, are you going to tell me who this girl is?" she asked.

"That is irrelevant Mother, can you help me?" he replied. His mother ignored the part asking for her help and she shook her head.

"Well, I have a good idea on who it is," she said innocently. Draco stared at her in shock, _oh no_. "Someone who is beautiful, and intelligent, but not someone that I would approve of. So that means she isn't Slytherin. Then you mentioned that you insulted her heritage and family, which leads me to believe that she is muggle-born. And the only beautiful _and_ intelligent muggle-born in this school is Hermione Granger," Narcissa concluded as she turned to face her son with her piercing, sky-blue eyes.

Draco remained silent. He knew he shouldn't have added so many details about her in his letter.

Narcissa's eyes softened as she stared at her son.

"Draco, you know that I don't care for blood purity. I just want you to be happy. I don't care if you marry a half-blood or even a muggle-born! As long as she makes you happy, I'm happy," she softly said, "As long as she isn't some rude, ignorant gold-digger bint that thinks that she's better than everyone. And Miss Granger certainly isn't," she added as an afterthought.

Draco stared at his mother. "So you're really okay with me liking her mother?" he asked.

"Of course sweetheart, and she's a wonderful, ambitious young lady, what's not to like about her?" Narcissa Malfoy didn't compliment just anyone, if she didn't like you, she let you know. Draco was so happy he felt like he could burst.

"Now, how did you insult her?" his mother asked.

"I called her a mudblood," he muttered. _Smack_. Narcissa smacked her son on the back of his head.

"Ow! Mother!" he cried.

"No wonder she's mad at you! How dare you use that word!" she admonished.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean it! I've tried to apologize to her, but she won't listen to me!" Draco defended himself. Narcissa frowned at her son some more.

"Alright, you need to show her that you really care," she stated.

"So… I should buy her jewelry or something?" he asked.

"No, no, jewelry is nice and all, for a witch like Pansy or myself. But when apologizing, a girl like Miss Granger prefers something more thoughtful. They don't care for expensive trinkets. Flowers are the way to go. Girls love flowers. You need to make a bold public declaration, or she will never believe you. Go big, be extreme!" she advised him. Draco took this all into consideration, a plan already forming in his mind.

"Thank you mother, you've really helped me out," he thanked.

"You're welcome dear. Now eat," she commanded. Draco took a bite of Turkish delight as he listened to his mother and Snape talk.

"Oh yes I'm doing alright, Severus, how are you?" asked Narcissa.

"I'm doing well, Cissa," he replied. Draco rolled his eyes at his Godfather, _Cissa_, he snorted. He received a sharp look from Severus.

"Did you know _Cissa_," he put emphasis on her nickname, "Draco hasn't been to class on time lately, it's quite frequent too," he tattled.

_Smack_. Draco received another smack on the head from his mother who was staring at him in disappointment.

"Draco! You know better than that! You must be on time; you're Head Boy and are setting a bad example for the younger students!" Narcissa scolded. Snape smirked.

"Yes, Mother, I'm sorry, I'll try to be on time to class," he apologized.

"Sev, you'll keep me updated won't you?" she returned her attention to the man sitting across from her.

"Of course, I'll let you know _everything_ and _anything_ that Draco here does," Severus Snape sneered.. Draco glared at his godfather before getting up to walk his mother to the gates of Hogwarts where she could apparate home. Narcissa kissed Severus on the cheek before waving goodbye. Draco followed his mother and slammed the door behind him. They walked to the entrance to the grounds of the school with Narcissa chattering away happily. They reached the apparation point.

"Draco, please take care, and don't hesitate to owl me if you need more assistance alright?" she asked.

"Of course mother, thank you for everything," he hugged his mother goodbye.

"Nonsense, don't thank me, as your mother, it is my job to help you make sure you don't do anything foolish. I love you," she gave him one last hug before stepping away.

"I love you too mother," he replied before Narcissa Malfoy apparated away,

Draco walked back to the school, thinking over his plan to get Hermione to forgive him, _Operation Granger_ was underway.

* * *

**WELL! That was a long chapter, longest yet! Thank you to all my reviewers and thank you to my beta. I'll see you all in a week!**

**BTW: Severus and Narcissa are just friends, and will remain just friends. :)**

review**review_reviewreview Please!_**

**_PS: SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I JUST GOT BACK FROM VACATION!_**


	11. Granger Danger

**Everything but the plot belongs to J.K :)**

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Draco woke on the morning of Friday happy, it was the day after his mother had come to Hogwarts to visit him and given him advice. He loved his mother so much; only she would take the time out of her busy life as an Elite Socialite to come down to his school to chat with him. He wished that Snape hadn't been there for the conversation though, now he knew that he liked Hermione and Snape would probably hold that over him for a while. Of course having Snape know wasn't completely useless. As revenge for tattling to Narcissa about him, Draco roped Snape into helping him with his plan. No, No, he wasn't going to ask for Amortentia or anything, seeing as he could brew that himself, Draco had merely asked Snape for a small favor that would take place during Potions that day. He wanted to try smaller things before resorting to Plan B.

Draco had thoroughly thought through what he was going to do. There would be no room for mistakes he just couldn't risk it this time. He missed Hermione. If anyone had told him that he, Draco Malfoy, would miss - or even like - Hermione Granger about a year ago, he would have hexed them so bad they would have ended up on the fourth floor of St Mungo's for spell damage.

He missed the way that Hermione wasn't afraid of him. If he said something, she let him know her opinion; she never backed down from an argument. He missed the way that they would argue with each other in a way that could pass for flirting - it was fun. She was just such a brilliant person and he hated that he had hurt her in the worst way possible. He wanted her back and he would go to any lengths to achieve that too. He didn't think he could go another week with her thinking of him as scum on the bottom of her shoe.

Draco casually rolled out of bed and placed his feet on the floor. He crossed the room to his window and swept aside the blinds. The glaring sun shone into his eyes and made him flinch; it was a beautiful, gorgeous day: _perfect._ He allowed himself a few moments to appreciate the view. The black lake was looking especially bright today, Draco even noticed a tentacle rise out of the water slowly and grab an apple from the tree that was on the outskirts of the lake. _The Giant Squid_, thought Draco as he smiled and turned away from the window. He walked towards the door that led to the bathroom. That was a downside of sharing the Head Rooms with Hermione. They had to share their bathroom and they had a schedule that they followed. Draco was supposed to go after her, but seeing as how he was awake a full hour early today and she wasn't supposed to go for another half hour, he decided to have his turn now.

He grabbed one of his emerald green towels and draped it over the rail, so that it would be within arm's reach. Draco turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature until it was perfect, not too cold, just a little above warm. He disrobed before fully stepping into the shower. The water cascaded down onto his back. He sighed, this felt like heaven. He loved starting his mornings off with a nice hot shower - they awakened him. He grabbed his body wash, _Smell like a Weasley,_ and lathered it on. It was a product from the Twin's shop. When he had first read the name of the item, he had been immediately turned off; he'd rather not smell like a Weasley, thank you very much. They probably smelt… _poor. _But that was in his fifth year. He ended up receiving it as a gift from Pansy and he had used it, after all, why should he let something go to waste? As it turned out this particular body wash smelt whatever you wanted it to smell like. It was quite a success with the ladies. They were always complaining of how some guys smelt, and some guy's cologne was too strong, but this body wash was special, if you walked past Draco and your favorite smell was Pumpkin Pasties, then that's what you would smell. If you liked lavender, you'd smell it. It was ingenious! It was now Draco's must-have product. He washed his hair slowly, allowing his fingers to massage his scalp to rid it of any tensions and then he rinsed it out. He quickly applied his conditioner and then he was done. Some may think that Draco was a bit of a girl with the way he took his time to just do his hair, but hey, he was Draco Malfoy, his hair was a part of him, like a signature. When someone noticed that soft, shiny, platinum blonde hair, they immediately thought: _Malfoy_.

He opened the screen door and grabbed for his towel. He patted himself dry so that there was only a bit of moisture left on him before wrapping it around and tying the towel securely around his hips. He stepped out of the shower and walked over to the sink where he could brush his teeth. He grabbed his cinnamon toothpaste and squeezed it onto his toothbrush. As he brushed, he admired himself in the mirror. As he turned, he could see his muscles flex, he looked _good_. He didn't hear the door slowly creak open or see a very sleepy and tired Hermione walk in, completely oblivious to her surroundings, until he rinsed the toothpaste out of his mouth and brought his head up. It was when he turned around, ready to get back to his room, when he did notice her, dressed in a very uncharacteristic attire for the head girl…

Hermione woke up that morning feeling very tired. She just knew that this wouldn't be her day, something was going to happen and she hated not knowing what. She lay in bed for a few minutes before finally getting up, according to their mutual agreement, her bathroom time started in five minutes. She was so bloody tired! She probably got about two hours of sleep last night. She'd spent most of it thinking about stupid Malfoy. Even in her dreams, she thought about Malfoy! She was still in a half dreamlike state, not fully acknowledging the fact that she was awake, and the day was starting. Hermione slowly rolled out of bed and took a few steps towards the bathroom door, feeling like she was going to drop dead at any moment now. She grudgingly shuffled her feet the rest of the way to the door before slowly opening it. She stepped inside and noticed that it smelt like fresh cut grass and strawberries and she figured this was part of her dream. She saw a blurry shape bent over the sink. She cocked her head wondering what it could be. _Maybe it's the sleep fairy_, she sleepily thought. She continued staring at the blurry shape until it turned around. _That's not a sleep fairy… it's a man. A very attractive man_, she thought, _an attractive man who is only wearing a towel. My__,__ look at that chest, and those abs! He is very well built. What a chiseled jaw he has, and high cheekbones too, he has pink lips, they're really pretty. Wow, pretty silver gray eyes! Wait, why are his eyes looking at me? Why is he looking me up and down? Wait... what the … MALFOY?_ Hermione snapped out of her sleep-deprived state and stared at Draco Malfoy, who was, in fact, looking her up and down.

"MALFOY?" she yelled.

Draco looked up into her eyes before replying, "Yes, Granger?"

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"

"Well, _Hermione_, maybe if you put some clothes on, I'd be able to. You shouldn't go prancing about half naked when you know there is a male seventeen year old in the room next to you, s'not my fault," he smirked.

Hermione looked down to see what she was wearing; a mid-thigh emerald green nightgown. It was very short, and very revealing…but in her defense, it was very comfortable! _Oh Merlin,_ she thought as she quickly grabbed a towel from the rack and held it up in front of her so that she was covered.

"What are you doing in here anyway? You are not supposed to use the bathroom until I am finished with it," she informed him.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, but I woke up, it wasn't your turn yet, so I decided to go ahead and use it," he told her. Hermione glared at him, knowing that his reason was legit. They'd never said anything about going before the other person's scheduled time. She pointed towards the door to his own room and muttered,

"Out, it's my turn now."

Draco smirked once more before leaving.

_Oh Merlin, that was embarrassing_, thought Hermione. She checked to make sure that his door was locked before going to take her own shower. _He__'d__ looked really good though…_

Draco looked through his boxer drawer before deciding on a pair of silk gray boxers. After that last incident where his undergarments were on display for everyone to see, he'd resorted to wearing simple ones with nothing on them but color. He put on his school uniform before grabbing his bag. It was only six-thirty and he didn't want to go down to breakfast yet. But he knew the perfect place he could go. He walked downstairs and exited through the common room door. He whistled as he made his way down to the dungeons. He felt the familiar cold breeze associated with the bottom floor creep on up him but he swept it aside, nothing could ruin this day. He whispered the password _Serpentine, _to the portrait guarding the Slytherin common room and he stepped in. He looked around, noting that there was nobody awake yet obviously; he made his way up the stairs to the seventh year boy's dormitory. He opened the door with a bang. Nobody but Theodore Nott jumped at that noise.

"Good Morning, mate!" grinned Draco.

Theodore just glared at him before muttering _Silencio_ around his bed and going back to sleep. Draco glanced over at Crabbe and Goyle, a bomb could go off in the room and they wouldn't go waking up anytime soon. That left Draco to return to his original reason for coming down here. He jumped on Blaise's bed like a kid and started shaking him.

"WAKE UP MATE! WAKE UP!" Blaise jumped with a start,

"Wuzz going on?" He slurred, half asleep. Draco thought carefully before pointing his wand at his best mates face and saying, _Augmenti! _Water erupted from the end of his wand straight into Blaise's face. Blaise cried out as the cool water hit his face - at least he was awake now.

He grabbed his wand and dried himself before meeting his furious indigo blue eyes to the eyes of Draco Malfoy. He glared at him before hissing,

"What. The. Hell. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"

"Cheer up, mate, get dressed, we've got a long day ahead of us!" nothing could dampen Draco's mood. Blaise glared at him for a while longer before groaning and getting up. He dressed quickly and muttered a refreshing spell on himself, knowing that Draco would not be giving him the time to take a shower and get decently ready. He followed Draco out of the dorm and past a still empty common room. _Whatever this is about, it had better be good_, thought Blaise as he stared at his watch, which read the ungodly hour of 6:40am.

They walked to the Great Hall with Blaise silent as a mouse while Draco chattered on and on about how beautiful the weather was this fine day. Blaise glared daggers into Draco's head as they walked.

"The sun is shine, the bird are chirping, there are no clouds, it smells like winter is coming!" said Draco gleefully, which made no sense because if winter was coming, why would you be able to hear birds? Draco dragged Blaise over to the Slytherin table and sat down. He piled food onto his plate, before turning and piling it onto Blaise's plate as well, as if he was some child that was so incompetent that he needed someone else to feed him. Blaise continued to glare at him. They passed the next hour like this, Blaise silently eating, Draco talking about the most random crap ever, the great hall was slowly filling up. They had long ago finished eating their breakfasts and were now just sitting there, Blaise with a scowl on his face, Draco with a large grin. They were getting lots of strange looks from everyone, they were all curious as to why Draco was smiling so much, it was a bit unnerving. Noticing this, Blaise jabbed Draco in his rib with his elbow.

"OW!" hissed Draco in pain, clutching his side while turning to glare at Blaise. "What the hell?"

"You're attracting attention with your god-damn smile," Blaise replied smugly, happy that he'd caused Draco some pain after he'd woken him up so early, he still didn't know why. Draco looked around and noticed what Blaise was talking about; he quickly re-arranged his face into a neutral expression.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" Blaise finally asked.

"Shh, you'll see when the mail get's here," Draco answered.

Blaise turned in his seat and resumed his brooding. At 7:50, Pansy dragged herself over to where they sat and joined them, grabbing some pancakes to eat. At 8:00, the Great Hall was full of students, then the owl's for the mail started pouring in. Blaise scanned the ceiling for something special, whatever Draco was going on about. He didn't notice anything, and eventually all the Owl's had landed near their owners and the ceiling was empty.

"Mate, wh-" Draco held up a hand and shook his hand, telling him to wait.

Then Blaise heard a _hoot hoot _from above and he returned his gaze. There, flying towards the Gryffindor table were about 50 majestic owls, all carrying some kind of flower in their beak. They attracted the attention of the _entire_ Great Hall and everyone was pointing at them in awe; everyone wanted to know who the flowers were for. They found out soon enough, the owls all flew towards the end of the table where the golden trio sat, secluded from their house-mates. The first owl dropped a flower in front of a very shocked Hermione Granger. Then the next and so on; each leaving the Great Hall as soon as they had finished their task. Eventually all the flowers were sitting neatly in front of Hermione Granger, who was just staring at them in bewilderment: they were beautiful! There were roses, lilies, daisies, orchids, fire lilies, wildflowers and so many others!

Draco heard Ginny squeal for her best friend as she gazed at all the flowers. Potter and Weasley just stared at them in surprise. Who were they from? They'd find out soon enough. A final Owl made its way down to Hermione, a jet-black eagle owl that had a dark blue sheen, _Midnight_. He settled himself on Hermione's shoulder and dropped a note down in front of her. Hermione stared at it carefully before picking it up and opening it to read the green ink:

_Hermione,_

_I'm Sorry_

That was it, three little words. Hermione smiled a little before looking up and meeting the eyes of Draco Malfoy who was watching her carefully. She bowed her head and bit her lip, unsure of what to do. _Wow,_ thought Blaise_, he really went all out_. Hermione looked up, having made her decision and nodded at Draco, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the students of Hogwarts. They started whispering amongst themselves, why was Draco sending Hermione flowers? Hermione stood up and waved her wand at the flowers. At first Draco was worried she was going to set them on fire, and then he noticed what she was doing; wrapping a ribbon around all of them, so that they would stay together. She whispered something to her friends before she waved her wand once more. She walked away from the table, with the flowers and Ginny following her.

Draco saw, no felt hundreds of stares coming his way from the students. He also saw the puzzled looks of Weasley and Potter. He just ignored them all and got up. He walked towards the exit and left, Pansy and Blaise following him. They walked to Potions and took their seats, Draco waited for the inquisition to start, and, sure enough, Pansy didn't last more than five minutes before she started asking questions.

"Draco, you sent those flowers to her didn't you?"

"Beautiful, weren't they?" He smirked.

Pansy rolled her eyes, "I know you had help, Draco, your mother obviously told you what to do, there is no way that you would be able to be romantic on your own."

"I resent that," mumbled Draco before speaking clearly, "But yes, mother did give me the idea,"

"Well, I thought it was nice," Blaise said, "Do you think she'll forgive you?" Pansy nodded at that; she had been caught up to the situation and when they'd told her, she had smacked Draco for uttering that word - she was so over prejudices.

"I hope so," Draco answered, unsure as to how Hermione would take it. She had nodded at him, which showed she knew that it was him who sent it, but that didn't mean she forgave him.

Draco turned to Pansy,

"Pansy, what's going on between you and the Weasel?" he questioned. Blaise sat back, ready for his two friends to interact.

"Oh, well, I'm going to the ball with him," she stated, nervously eyeing Draco.

"And why, may I ask, are you going to the ball with that inarticulate buffoon?"

"Draco, I like _Ron_, and he likes me, and he asked me to go to the ball with him, and I accepted._ That_ is why I am going with him. And don't insult him! He's a really nice guy and you need to get over your hatred of him," Pansy protested.

"Does he make you happy?" asked Draco after a pause.

Pansy eyed him before answering, "Yes, he cares about me a lot. I wouldn't like him if he didn't make me happy,"

Draco sighed dramatically, "Well, if he makes you happy, who am I to judge? I'll butt out, but if he hurts you in any way, then I take back my statement of not getting involved and I'll beat him to a bloody pulp," Draco said warningly, unaware that Ron had said those exact same words to Hermione in regards to him.

"I know you will, Drakie." Pansy smiled as Draco glared at the nickname. They all turned around in their seats as they noticed the other students coming in. Once everyone was seated Snape started to speak in his creepy voice,

"Today, we will be brewing the Wolfsbane potion. I will put you in pairs. Try to make this potion correctly, all Outstanding vials of the Potion will be sent to St. Mungo's. Now, as I understand, you were given partners recently in your Defense against the Dark arts class by _Professor Lupin," _he said his name with a bit of a sneer. Even though they were colleagues, they still held a bit of resentment between them. "You will be getting into those same partners," Snape concluded. Draco smiled as he got up to go and sit next to Hermione; this was the moment of truth, to determine whether or not she had really forgiven him.

"Hello, Hermione," said Draco as he sat down next to her. Hermione looked at him, mumbled hello and got up to get the ingredients for their potion. Draco stared after her with a look of defeat but fixed his face before she came back.

"Thank you for getting the ingredients," Draco thanked, Hermione grunted. "Did you like the flowers?"

Hermione stopped measuring out the ingredients and turned to look at him, "They were nice, thank you,"

"And?" Draco pressed.

"And what?" asked Hermione

"Do you forgive me?" Draco added nervously.

"Draco, the flowers were nice and I really liked them, but, no I do not forgive you because I will not be bought," Hermione huffed as she turned back to the potion. Draco hung his head in shame and looked over at Pansy and Blaise and shook his head. They both gave him sympathetic looks before returning to their respective partners.

"I wasn't trying to buy you, I just thought you'd like them, I'm sorry," he mumbled. Hermione looked up and paused in her work.

"Draco, you were, that's why you felt the need for a gift. And I did like them don't apologize. Now can we please work on the potion, Snape keeps looking over here," she added.

Draco looked over to the Potions master, and seeing that Hermione was right he got to work, he'd apologize later tonight in part two of his plan. They worked silently throughout class, only communicating with each other when they had to. Ten minutes before the end of class, they finished their potion. They were the first ones. Hermione scooped some of the potion into a clear vial and got up to hand it to professor Snape. Draco went with her. Snape observed the Potion, swishing it this way and that before unplugging it and taking a sniff.

"This is brewed perfectly, you will both receive an Outstanding, put the rest of the potion into vials like this," Snape demanded. Hermione smiled and said, "Yes Sir," before heading back to the desk. Draco and Hermione put the potion into vials as they watched their fellow students hand in their own potions. The only ones that got an Outstanding like theirs were the pairings of Harry and Blaise, Ron and Pansy, and Theo and Daphne, but that was because the Slytherins were excellent potioneers, Harry and Ron were dreadful. Everyone else failed the potion because it was brewed incorrectly. The class was dismissed after they handed in all the correct vials and they headed towards Charms. For some reason, whoever made the schedules had decided to put the Gryffindors and the Slytherins in all the same classes. Charms was extremely boring as all they did was a review of the past week's enchantments. After that was over they headed to lunch.

"So she didn't forgive you, mate?" asked Blaise as he plopped down into his seat at the Slytherin table.

"No, but its okay. I still got part two," Draco told him as he put a piece of roast beef into his mouth and chewed. Pansy sipped on her mushroom soup and asked.

"What do you plan on doing now?"

"You'll see at dinner," Draco avoided answering.

"S'long as you don't embarrass yourself Drake," laughed Blaise. _Too late for that,_ thought Draco. Lunch ended too soon and soon they were off to Transfiguration. It was an interesting class because they were learning the process of becoming Animagi. The ministry had decided that they would allow students to do this as long as they registered. Everyone was ecstatic when McGonagall had first announced it back in September. Luckily this was advanced Transfiguration so the 'less intelligent' students like Crabbe and Goyle weren't in it. Everyone in this class was more than capable of practicing Animagi and staying on top of their studies.

These past few months they had been learning the theory of becoming an Animagus. Today they would be put in potion-induced sleeps that would show them what their inner animal was, their inner Animagus, and everyone was beyond excited. But not everyone would be able to achieve this. Becoming an Animagus was extremely hard and McGonagall had told them that only the people who tried extremely hard and were really dedicated would be able to get it. Everyone would be taking turns to figure out what his or her form was. Draco prayed to Merlin that he would not turn out to be a Ferret or some other rodent. First up was Zabini. He sauntered up to the seat placed in front of the class. It was a bit like the first year sorting ceremony, except instead of putting something on, you were ingesting something. Blaise stayed in his dream state for five minutes before coming out of it. He grinned and said,

"Fox," Draco clapped his friend on his back, it fit him perfectly: he was as sly as a fox. Everyone went up when their name was called and they found out their animal. Nott was a tabby cat, something that made McGonagall smile; Greengrass a beautiful owl; Brown turned into a monkey, which made everyone laugh; Weasley - to the delight of everyone - was a weasel; Finnegan a raven; Thomas was a parakeet; Longbottom a mouse; Patil a rat - which made Potter glare for some reason; and Potter was a magnificent Stag, something that did not seem to surprise Weasley or Granger. Then it was Hermione's turn. She was sitting there longer than anyone else had and when she finally came to, she announced: "Unicorn." Everyone stared at her in shock. She'd got such a rare animal! McGonagall hadn't even known that it was possible to turn into one. But here she was, smartest witch ever to attend Hogwarts, a Unicorn. She walked over and took her seat next to her friends who were congratulating her on getting such a magnificent animal. Finally it was Draco's turn. He walked up to the chair, put the hat on, and fell asleep.

He woke in a strange place. There were rivers around him and a tall forest off to his left. He couldn't see anything else as far as the eye could see but this place was beautiful and calm, it was so peaceful. Draco was starting to get worried because he couldn't see his Animagus animal anywhere, and then, as if out of the blue, he heard a sound behind him. He slowly turned, anxious to see and what he saw made him gasp in surprise. There were two legendary creatures walking towards him! One was a snow-white, medium sized Dragon with shiny scales that looked like silver when the sun hit them just right. It had ice-blue eyes and a very calm expression on its face. The next animal was a shock to Draco. It was a Griffin. Why would he be the animal that symbolizes Gryffindor? It also was white in appearance but it had silver eyes. Draco finally got his wits back and asked the two creatures, unsure if they could talk:

"B-But, why are there two of you?" The two creatures stared at each other and nodded.

"Draco Malfoy, you are a complex human being," started the Dragon, which startled Draco. "You see me here before you because you are like a Dragon. You are powerful, you can be dangerous, you are a mystery to others, there are people who are afraid of you, you are mystifying, People think you are evil, but you aren't and you symbolize sin, you know what I mean by that," concluded the Dragon staring at him.

"You see me here because you are different, just like me. You are powerful like me, and you guard the things you treasure with your life, just like I am used for. You have a love for flying, and you may not admit it, but you_ are_ as courageous as a Gryffindor. You were courageous enough to fight for the other side in the war, the only reason you are a Slytherin is because of your family history," said the Griffin.

Draco absorbed all this information about himself and asked, "But, which one of you is my Animagus form?"

"Both of us are," they replied in unison.

"That's impossible, you can only have one Animagus form,"

"Under normal circumstances, you however are different. You are the first to ever be able to have two forms. If you can accomplish the process of becoming an Animagus, you will be able to choose between us whenever you want," said the Dragon.

"I- wow, this is incredible,"

"Indeed, now you will be sent back to your classroom, please try hard so that you will be able to master both forms," said the Griffon, its voice fading into nothing as the world around Draco disappeared. With a whirl he was back in the classroom. A frantic McGonagall was looking at him.

"Merlin! What took so long? You were asleep for 30 minutes! We were worried that something had happened!"

"Something did happen," mumbled Draco as he got up to rejoin his friends. Everybody in the class was staring at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, what is your form?" Professor McGonagall broke the silence.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you, so I'm just going to project my memory for you to see," Draco said as he waved his wand near his head. A silver light shot to the front of the room, and something akin to a muggle movie started to play. It was Draco's memory. Everybody watched in silence as the two creatures explained everything again. Draco just sat there, lost in his thoughts. Finally the memory was over and everyone turned to stare at him as if he was some freak.

"Draco," started Mcgonagall, "This is absolutely incredible! You have the rare gift of being able to transform into not one, but two rare creatures!" Draco just nodded and looked at the ground, he was still in shock after finding out that he was the first person _ever_ to accomplish this. "We must ensure that you practice hard, class dismissed!" Everyone slowly got to their feet, still puzzled over Draco.

"Wow, mate," Blaise clapped him on the back while Pansy hugged him. They were proud of their friend. Well, Draco had been right, he hadn't even started phase two of his plan, and already the day had gone down in the history of Hogwarts, and they still had one more class to go to.

Defense against the Dark Arts was an interesting class as usual. They learned some neat defensive spells, but Draco already knew all of them, so it was a bit pointless for him and he got to spend the class thinking about what happened during Transfiguration. He was worried. He was just a normal seventeen year old! And now he's given this big responsibility to see if he can conquer two different animagus' it's a hard life. Not to mention there was a quidditch match in two days against Hufflepuff so he had to get his team ready for that. When Defense ended, everyone returned to their dormitories to return their bags before heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. Draco was beyond excited… well maybe not excited, he was nervous, worried, scared, apprehensive but altogether happy. This plan would work, it just had to.

Everyone was seated and they were enjoying their delicious meals when a slight _ahem_ caught their attention. Everybody, including the staff, turned to the Slytherin Table where Draco Malfoy was climbing onto his seat. _What the hell? _Seemed to be the main thing running through everyone's minds. He looked extremely nervous, but he didn't back down, the Griffin was right: he was courageous! He could do this. He tapped his throat and muttered _Sonorus_.

"ATTENTION! Hey," He cleared his throat nervously, looking around the hall before continuing, "so as everyone should know, seeing as how I'm your Head Boy, but if you're daft or stupid, I'm Draco Malfoy, Slytherin. You may be asking yourselves, 'What the Hell is the most handsome and amazing bloke in the school doing standing on his seat?" He heard laughs from all directions. "Well, I'll tell you exactly what I'm doing up here. See, I made a mistake a little while back, and it's about time that I rectify that situation. I've tried, believe me I have, but nothing has seemed to work, so here I am, making a complete fool of myself for one person," Everyone turned to look at Hermione Granger, assuming that she was the person Draco was talking about, seeing as how he did send her flowers. "Can I please ask the Head Girl, Hermione Granger to stand up?" He looked straight at Hermione when he said this. She seemed to be rooted to her seat, afraid to move. She didn't look like she was planning on getting up anytime soon either, but luckily she did… with a little help from Ginny, but the point was she was standing.

"Hermione, I Draco Malfoy, admit here today in front of the entire student body that I am a prat. I am an insensitive jerk who hurt you. Ever since that day I've done nothing but try and earn your trust again. People might think that I only need you to be speaking to me since we are Head's together, but the truth is, you are an amazing person and I like having you as a _friend," _gasps were heard throughout the hall: Draco Malfoy thought of Hermione as a friend, no wait, an _equal?_ Draco moved off from the bench he was sitting and walked towards Hermione, he lifted the Sonorous Charm as he walked, but everything in the hall was so silent that everyone could hear him anyways. "Hermione, please forgive me, that's all I ask of you, I need your forgiveness because, quite frankly, I'm a bother without you - just ask Blaise. So please, will you forgive me?" He whispered that last part, taking her hand in his own. She was silent, thinking things over, everything he'd said and done, wondering if it was worth it.

"I forgive you Draco, but don't make me regret it," she told him finally. Draco grinned and grabbed her in a big hug while everyone cheered. Hermione smiled and hugged him back. She liked seeing him smile; it was better than his usual smirk or scowl. He'd just embarrassed himself in front of everyone, how could she not forgive him?

"Want to go plan the ball properly after dinner?" asked Hermione.

"It's a date," confirmed Draco turning away to go back to his own table.

"It's not a date Malfoy! It's a… business meeting!" The last thing she heard was him chuckling at her as she smiled and turned around to finish her own dinner. Ginny kept grinning at her friend while Ron and Harry bickered over Malfoy. Everything was back to normal.

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**What do you think? She has finally forgiven him! After like 4 chapters :) Please review and give me your thoughts or comments, it's appreciated! **

**Thank you to my reviewers and my Beta :D**

**If you haven't noticed... all my chapter names are some sort of quote from AVPM/AVPS... I know they don't make sense sometimes but I use the closest thing I can find :)**

**I have also decided to answer questions you leave in your reviews, or just some comments :)**

**XAnnabubbleX : Your review made me smile :) I love how hot Draco is as well, makes me wish that I had my own little Draco Malfoy:)**

**roni2010 : Thank you, the dueling was a bit difficult to write but I like that Hermione won :)**

**Karate Chic : I was so tempted to call it operation Granger Danger... but I decided not too :(**

**edwardsoneandonlylove : Thanks for reviewing every chapter! I love his mum too :)**

**Tori Sohma : Hehehe, well now you know his plan :)**

**Rosiebutterfly : The readers demanded, and you got it!**

**Snapesdiary, Minnieismyidol, Siriuslyback : Thank you!  
**


	12. I'm not a night troll I'm a little girl!

**Nothing but the plot belongs to me :)**

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"Bye!" Hermione practically screamed as she ran off down the hallway leaving Harry and Ron staring after her in bewilderment. She screeched to a stop in front of her common room and calmed herself down. She patted down her hair and said the password. The portrait door swung open and Hermione entered the common room. She saw Draco sitting at the desk with his back to the door; he hadn't noticed her coming in. She smirked - a smirk worthy of the Malfoys - and snuck up behind him. She leant in close to his ear,

"BOO!" Draco jumped up out of his seat and hit something with his head,

"OWW!" he groaned clutching his head while turning around to face Hermione, he glared at her before realizing she was clutching her chin. So that's what he hit…

"OH, sorry! I thought you were a boggart or something, are you okay?" he asked coming next to her and taking her hands off her chin so he could take a look. Hermione glared at him and harrumphed before pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Why is it that you never get hurt when you scare me?" she muttered as she got out the planning book.

Draco smirked as he sat down, "That's because you haven't yet mastered the art, and you didn't scare me,"

"Sure I didn't, whatever you say Draco," said Hermione sarcastically.

"Glad you see things my way Mugglemuffin."

Hermione looked up and stared at Draco incredulously, Draco, feeling her stare, looked up at her.

"What?"

"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?" asked Hermione, not angry but surprised.

"What, Mugglemuffin?"

"Yes, _Mugglemuffin_, what on earth is that?"

"That's my new nickname for you," he stated

"I don't want a new nickname," she replied.

"Too bad, you're getting one."

"I don't want it."

"You already have it."

"Take it back!"

"No, it's like a gift, you can't return these kinds of things my little mugglemuffin."

"Well too bad, take it back!"

"No."

"Why can't you use one of my existing nicknames?" she asked in frustration.

"Because,"

"Because why?"

"I don't like them."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because."

"WHY?"

"Potter and Weasley use them," Hermione just stared at him, "what? I don't want to call you the same thing they do! Gross."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's childish behavior. "Why not, they aren't the only ones who call me those names,"

"Well, I want to be unique, so you get a brand new nickname from me, you should feel special, not everyone does you know?"

"But... why mugglemuffin?"

"Well, you are part muggle, and I'm rather fond of muffins," he said matter of factly.

"But… still.. why mugglemuffin?"

"Because I said so, accept it and stop wasting time. Now my little mugglemuffin, let's get to work!"

Hermione shook her head at him but Draco could see a little smile in the corner of her mouth. At least she wasn't jinxing him for calling her that.

"Whatever, so what band do you want to hire for the evening?" asked Hermione, getting down to business.

"Well, we have a choice between; The Weird Sisters, The Hobgoblins and Spellbound. Out of those three we need to pick one that is available for the 31st of December," he stated. Hermione was impressed that he actually was taking this seriously and knew what he was doing.

"Well, The Weird Sisters is definitely the most popular band out of the three, maybe people want to see something different since we had them back in fourth year?"

"Right, so cross them off the list, that leaves the Hobgoblins and Spellbound," he said, while he scratched his expensive peacock feather quill across the parchment.

"Well, Spellbound isn't that well known, so I don't think people will be all that excited to see them, which leaves us with the Hobgoblins? If they decline we can ask Spellbound," Hermione proposed.

"Sounds good, shall we owl them now?" asked Draco.

"Sure, the sooner the better," said Hermione while grabbing a piece of paper.

_Dear Stubby Boardman,_

_We are writing to inquire whether you and your band, the Hobgoblins, would be available to perform at the ball we are having on the 31st of December. If you are available, we will owl you the details for the evening. Thank you._

_Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy_  
_Head girl and Head boy_

_Hogwarts __S__chool of Witchcraft and Wizarding._

Hermione popped the letter into an envelope and pocketed it so that she could owl it when she went to owl the rest of her letters.

"Task one, complete," grinned Draco. "We'll be done in no time."

Hermione smiled as she turned to the page of decorations.

"Right, So we have the color theme; blue and silver. We know that we will have snowflakes falling everywhere and mistletoe hanging around the school in the week leading up to the ball and at the ball, what else?"

"Let's figure those two details out first, I think that the snowflakes should disappear as they touch the ground and we don't want too much because people will get annoyed. As for the mistletoe, let's make it like this, it will only activate if there is a boy and girl underneath and they can't leave the mistletoe they get stuck under unless they kiss the person. And just for fun let's not tell them that it doesn't have to be a kiss on the lips," Draco grinned, Hermione snorted. "At the ball, let's have the mistletoe appear as the clock strikes midnight," said Draco. Hermione smiled, it was perfect!

"I love it, both ideas are great!" she praised. Draco beamed in thanks.

"I have my moments, what other decorations do we really need?"

"Let's have the walls covered in pale blue with silver and white sparkling flakes all over it, I don't see why we need anything else other than Christmas trees placed around."

"Yeah, we don't want to overdo things, let's keep it simple," Draco agreed.

"Well… I think we're done, now we just need to decide who does what," beamed Hermione, glad that they finished so fast and efficiently.

"Let's have the seventh years work together with the complicated spells needed for the mistletoe and snowflakes, they are also in charge of decorating the trees, they each get one to decorate. But they will work in pairs, so Ernie and Hannah can work together, Padma and Anthony, then Ron and Pansy I guess since you and I would have been their partners but we have other things to attend to," said Hermione as she wrote this all down. Draco frowned at the part of Pansy working with his enemy, then again, those two were going to the ball together. He grimaced but luckily Hermione didn't notice. "I'll be in charge of the sixth years. Ginny, Collin, Luna, Andrew and I will be in charge of decorating the walls and making sure that the trees are placed accordingly. Megan, Tamsin, Harper and Rachel will be in charge of making sure that the band has everything that they need and that the stage is properly set up. This leaves you with the fifth years," Hermione frowned at the mention of them, "Mafalda, Malcolm, Orla, Stewart and you will be in charge of the food. You will need to perform the spell on the menus that makes food appear when they touch the menus with their wands. Romilda, Dennis, Kevin and Laura will take a menu to the house elves so that they know what they need to prepare. All of you will also be in charge of creating the menu. And you better make sure that no alcohol is snuck in!" she mentioned seeing the little smirk forming in the corner of Draco's mouth. He frowned and questioned,

"Why do I get stuck with the fifth years?"

"Because, Mafalda and Romilda are in that group and I don't get along with either of them, I refuse to deal with them," she gritted through her teeth. Draco nodded, he didn't know that Hermione had trouble with people.

"Well, that's everything I guess, we'll inform the prefects of their duties at the next meeting, oh and Harry will most likely help out as well," Draco rolled his eyes,

"If he must, not like he has any other friends to spend his time with," Hermione smacked him against his head, "Ow, violence is not necessary. Now I need to go, Quidditch practice," said Draco as he got up from his chair.

"Last minute much? Your game is tomorrow,"

"There is always time to practice; I'll look for you in the crowds! You better be cheering for me!" grinned Draco as he made his way out of the portrait hole. Hermione shook her head while smiling and put away everything before going off to bed, she had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a long day...

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**Hello, so this was short because I decided to separate chapter 12 into two parts. But on a happier note... TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! SEPTEMBER 12! :) So I decided to give you guys this chapter 2 days early so we can all be happy together! **

**All the prefects I listed are actual Hogwarts students, just some of the fifth years are not actual fifth years. I couldn't find enough who were actually in fifth year though. BUT look, I found this rather interesting...**

_Mafalda (born c. 1984) was witch who attended Hogwarts School in the 1990s. She was the daughter of Molly Weasley's second cousin (most likely a Squib) and a Muggle mother._

**Thanks for reading, Please Please Please Review and let me know what you think, ask me questions if you want :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read the story and thanks to my beta!**

**Until next time!**

**Tori Sohma** Draco Malfoy is my favorite character ever, he really is totally awesome :)

**harrypotter0293** Awe thanks! You are very kind :)

**roni2010** Thanks, I was worried that people wouldn't like the fact that he has two forms, but I think that Draco is unique… and special :) I hope that people will like the ball scene!

**edwardsoneandonlylove **None of the guys at my school are like that either! I really do hope that there is a guy like this somewhere in the world, that would just be too awesome. And thank you! :P

**crazy's wat i aim 4** Haha, I absolutely love AVPM :D And I will TOTALLY do that ;P

**Karate Chic** Haha I know! Too bad I realized it too late :(

**Siriuslyback** YAY, finally :)

**Snapesdiary** Hehe, I'm the author and I thought they wouldn't speak again =O

**Minnieismyidol** Your username makes me LOL :D

**Rosiebutterfly** Hehe, yeah he does tend to make a fool of himself doesn't he?


	13. That's Absurd!

**I wish I was J.K :)**

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"So, Hermione, who are you cheering for?" asked Ron as he eyed her neutral outfit consisting of the Hogwarts crest jumper.

"No team in particular as you can tell by my lack of color," replied Hermione as she took a bite of her toast while looking at Ron's exuberant yellow outfit, he was clearly showing everyone that he disliked Slytherin. Everywhere she looked people were either wearing green or yellow. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs obviously wore green and yellow respectively while most of the Gryffindors also wore yellow. Ravenclaw was the house that sided with Slytherin more often than not so it wasn't a surprise to anyone to see more than half their table wearing some kind of green. Also, if Slytherin beat Hufflepuff than they would move up to second with Ravenclaw moving to third while Hufflepuff dropped to last place. At least this wasn't a Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match; the day would be much more brutal.

Hermione looked over to the Slytherin table where she saw Draco ordering his teammates to eat something. Blaise seemed to be the only one eating, he was shoveling the food into his mouth, at least he had something in common with Ron - not that she'd ever tell either of them that. With forty-five minutes remaining until the match was to commence, the two teams started to make their way down to the quidditch pitch, no doubt going over some last minute strategies to beat the other team. There was a lot riding on this, as long as Slytherin won and neither they, nor Gryffindor lost an upcoming match, then they'd be playing each other in the final for the Quidditch Cup.

She polished off her slice of toast and looked around at her friends; Harry was chatting with Neville while Ginny waved her wand about lazily in her hand. That left Ron who was still pigging out.

"Okay, Ron, I think you're done eating, get up you guys," she commanded. Harry nodded to Neville before getting up; he would be going down to the match with the other Gryffindors. Ginny grinned and stood up, she was always excited to watch a Quidditch match, especially this one since Blaise would be playing.

"Hermione! I'm not done eating yet!" said Ron as he swallowed and forking some more food into his mouth. Hermione muttered a quick _Evanesco_ vanishing all of Ron's food.

"Well, now you are, get up," grinned Hermione as she started to walk down the aisle with Ron following while grumbling about her to Harry and Ginny. It was a surprisingly good day for November. The sky was clear and the sun was out, there was only a slight chill in the air. They had left the Great Hall before most of the other students so hopefully they'd be able to get some good seats to watch the game. In fact, as they entered the stadium they would be getting some really good seats. They plucked themselves down right in the middle of the first row of the stands so that they could see both sides of the pitch clearly. The foursome just sat there waiting for the game to start, finally Ron broke the silence.

"Think Snape has ever dated someone?" The other three just stared at him.

"Why, Ron? You interested?" asked a cheeky Ginny.

"WHAT! NO! EW! GROSS! GINNY!" shuddered Ron.

"I don't know, Harry, it does seem like he's trying to cover up a crush doesn't it?" Hermione turned to Harry.

"It sure does, never took Snape as Ron's type though,"

"Well, I'm sure Ron's his type, he's got the red hair, all he needs is green eyes!" chortled Ginny. All but Ron burst into laughter; he on the other hand was glaring at his best mates and sister.

"That is not funny guys, you're all disgusting, and you know I like Pansy!"

"Relax mate, just a little teasing," chuckled Harry, they were all finding this amusing. They started to entertain each other with details of how Ron and Snape's first date would go.

"And then Ron will go, _Oh Sevvy, why don't we go for a swim?"_

"Ha-ha! And he'll reply, _that's absurd! I am not going to risk washing my hair!" _They all burst into laughter, Ron still failed to find any humor in this situation, luckily they couldn't continue with their teasing since the students were finally making their way to their seats. Finally, everyone was seated and the teams made their way onto the pitch.

"Here comes the Hufflepuff team, hope they fixed that problem they were having with the nargles," said a dreamy voice, echoing over the grounds. The four looked up at the commentary box and noticed Luna sitting with an uncomfortable looking McGonagall sitting next to her. They all smiled, Harry beamed at the sight of her while the others smiled because they knew they would at least be provided with amusing commentary with Luna being the commentator.

"Summerby, Fleet, Smith, Applebee, Rickett, Cadwallader and Captain O'Flaherty are all looking nice and ready to play a nice little game of Quidditch. Wonder if Smith will be able to concentrate on the match, I heard his girlfriend bro-" She was cut off by McGonagall who covered the mike and practically yelled for Luna to focus on the match.

"Well, that's not important, oh look! Here comes the Slytherin team, Crabbe and Goyle are looking rather scary today, oh well, maybe they are just nervous, Vaisey, Warrington and Zabini are looking good to go, they seem confident that they'll kick a lot of goals." People laughed at her incorrect term of the word,"Bletchley looks a little sick, that doesn't bode well for them, maybe Hufflepuff will be able to score a lot on them. Oh, and here is the Captain Malfoy! Wasn't that just absolutely adorable the way he apologized to Hermione? Maybe there was a wrackspurt in his brain." Laughter rolled through the stands, Hermione blushed red as people turned to stare at her, they were still talking about it and she guessed that they would be taking about it for a while. After all, it wasn't everyday that a Malfoy apologized, least of all to a Muggle-Born. She settled into her chair and prepared to watch the match, and then they were off…

Draco flew around the pitch a little; he relished the feel of the cool wind in his hair, on his face breezing past him as he flew. He saw Blaise shoot an excellent goal with his foot giving them ten points. They were in the lead and he looked over at Hermione who was standing on her feet cheering. He smiled a little, she was actually cheering for Slytherin, what a turn in events this was. The match was pretty boring for him. Thirty minutes in and still there was no sign of the Snitch anywhere. The score was 70-30 in favor of Slytherin. He knew he should be on high alert for the Snitch but he couldn't help but glance over at Hermione every few seconds. Her cheeks were flushed with the cold and her hair was blowing in the wind -she had never looked more beautiful… _Wait, Beautiful?_ Wow, he really was getting soft, he had never _ever_ called someone beautiful before, but then again, there really was no other way to describe Granger, she was so perfect…_WOOSH_, he narrowly swerved to miss the bludger that was shot his way, he nodded his head at Crabbe who had knocked it away. That was a close one; he should really focus on the game more.

He turned away from the stands and shot through the air, orbiting high above the pitch. He cleared his mind of Hermione. All that mattered was finding the Snitch.

Something flickered at the ground near the Hufflepuff goalpost, the Snitch? Had to be. He aimed his broom that direction.

"Oh, look." Luna's voice floated over the pitch. "Draco Malfoy is going really fast, I do like him. He's very nice," Professor McGonagall scolded Luna again for speaking about non-quidditch-related matters.

"I think he has spotted the snitch... where is the Hufflepuff seeker? Oh there he is, hobbling his way over to Malfoy, Smith really doesn't seem like a very good seeker does he? Very slow at catching up, how did he get on the te-"

"LOVEGOOD!"

"Sorry, Professor," she chirped.

Draco narrowed his eyes on the little glittering ball and sped up a little, he knew that Smith wouldn't be able to catch up to him with his little nimbus two thousand. Draco had a very expensive brand new broom that was even better than Potter's Firebolt. He had a Firebolt Shooting Star - the fastest broom in the world. He blinked and noticed that the snitch was gone, vanished, not there anymore. He grunted in frustration but only slowed down a fraction, it was enough for Smith to catch up and think he had a chance. When he was right behind him, Draco shot down to the ground acting as if though he was about to grab the snitch, he quickly pulled out of his dive and heard the _thud_ as Smith crashed into the ground. He turned around and smirked, that's what he got for tailing him, he should obviously know better.

"Oh, what a pretty little wronky faint that Draco Malfoy just did, poor Smith, he looks okay though," and indeed he did, he was already on his broom and back in the air glaring at Draco who was flying away chuckling at Luna's pronunciation of the Wronski Feint. An hour and a half into the game, the snitch had not made reappearance. Slytherin was still in the lead though with a whopping 200 points over Hufflepuffs measly 40 points. This was really not their game Draco thought as Blaise scored another goal. He saw the She-weasel cheer for Blaise and then he got distracted by a glitter near Hermione's head. _Bugger_, the snitch just had to hover near Hermione's head. He noticed Potter looking at the snitch and then at him, but he wasn't saying anything, just choosing to ignore the snitch that hovered to close to him. Draco looked over to Smith and noticed that he was already flying towards the Snitch, Draco put on a boost of speed and rushed towards Hermione. Hermione for her part was completely oblivious to the snitch near her head, but she did notice the two focused seekers rushing towards her. She yelped and covered her head, expecting one to collide with her, but the collision never came. The snitch decided to shoot downwards towards the ground, and this time Draco wasn't performing the Wronksi feint, he was going for the snitch. Smith and him were neck in neck. Everyone stopped playing except the beaters. Everyone in the stands were cheering the two seekers on, they were leaning over their seats and the edges to get a better view. The snitch was just in his view when he heard a scream.

"HERMIONE!" He looked over his shoulder and watched in horror as a bludger collided with Hermione's ribs that made her lose her footing, she was slowly falling towards the ground! Get the snitch or save Hermione, it was really a no brainer for Draco which he would choose. She was speeding towards the ground when he rushed towards her, praying he would grab her in time. He heard Smith cheer behind him as he caught the snitch but Draco didn't care; all he cared about at the moment was Hermione. She was fast nearing the ground, he tuned out the screams of people, he reached out an arm, grasping for her hand. _Oh __Merlin__,_ she was almost near the floor! He put on an extra burst of speed and caught Hermione just in time; she was about 2 inches from colliding with the ground, hard. He gently lowered his broom to the floor and placed Hermione carefully on it. She was unconscious; he guessed it was from the bludger hitting her.

"And Slytherin wins with 210-190!" Draco barely even registered Luna announcing that his team had still won, he was carefully picking Hermione back up, he was going to take her to the Hospital wing. He noticed his team dismount around him, Blaise looked concerned for Hermione while the rest of the team were just relieved that they had won. But Draco didn't care about winning; he cared about Hermione's well-being. He mounted his broom again with Hermione in his arms, it was definitely faster than walking back with her in his arms. He knew that her little Gryffindor posse would be following on foot, so he flew back to the castle, praying to Merlin that his little Mugglemuffin would be okay.

* * *

"SHH! Shut up you guys, I think she's waking up!" said a female voice.

Hermione groaned as she opened one groggy eye, awoken by the sound of people chatting. She felt as though she had just had the living daylights beat out of her, not that she had ever experienced that of course, but let's just say that she was in excruciating pain. Her abdomen area felt numb with pain. The light from the windows struck her full-force and she quickly shut her eye again. Where was she? What happened?

"Mione, how are you feeling?" asked a male voice.

"Arry?" she asked through her raspy throat, "What happened to me?"

"Thank Merlin you're awake! Well during the quidditch match you were knocked out by a bludger, you were falling to the ground when…" Harry trailed off he had just noticed Draco enter the hospital wing. When he noticed that Hermione was awake, he got such a relieved expression on his face, which quickly turned to anger. He stalked over to the group.

"Go Malfoy! Go get yourself something to eat, take a shower! Hermione won't wake up while you're gone!" He mimicked Harry whilst he glared at him. Ron snorted at Draco's pathetic imitation.

"Well… how was I supposed to know?" mumbled Harry, looking away. Hermione watched the two of them argue, she still didn't know what had happened to her and it was really starting to frustrate her.

"Will someone PLEASE explain to me why I am in the Hospital Wing?" she demanded, trying to get up from the bed. As quick as lighting, Draco was by her side, pushing her gently back onto the bed.

"Need rest. Do not move," he commanded. Hermione harrumphed and glared, she wanted answers and she wanted them now. Harry saw the little glint in her eye and decided to leave.

"Right, Ron, Gin, come on, let's go - we need to discuss Quidditch tactics." They got up reluctantly, but they did leave, they understood that Draco had to be the one to tell Hermione, after all, he was the one who'd saved her.

Draco watched them leave before turning around and plunking himself into the chair that Ginny had just been occupying. He wasn't in the mood to get Weasel or Pothead germs. He stared at Hermione, concentrating on figuring out what he would tell her. He didn't even notice her waving her hand in front of his face. She finally had enough, and snapped her finger impatiently in front of him,

"DRACO!" He quickly came out of his little trance and grabbed her hand. He set it down gently on the bed, he didn't want to agitate her or anything - he did not want to add to her anger, frustration, pain or impatience.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered. Hermione stared at him, her eyes softening, her mouth losing all the hard edges of anger she had had just a minute ago.

"Draco, please, tell me what happened, how long have I been in here?" Draco was silent for a moment.

"You've been in here since yesterday morning. As I was rushing to catch the snitch, I heard someone yell your name from behind me, they sounded so terrified. I-I looked over my shoulder quickly just to see what was happening… what I saw made my heart stop for a moment," He looked away from Hermione to the window, "you were falling to the ground rapidly, a bludger just hit you in your ribcage, the impact of it somehow managed to knock you out. I turned around quickly and rushed towards you. I was almost too late," he looked back at her, "you were about two inches from hitting the ground when I managed to grab your hand. You have been in here this long because Pomfrey insisted that you stay here until you make a full recovery," Hermione was speechless, why didn't she remember any of that? She tried to move up, but the stabbing pain in her ribcage prevented her from doing anything but moan in pain. Draco sat up straight and quickly became attentive.

"What's wrong? What hurts? Should I go get Pomfrey?" he asked, worried. Hermione sat back down and smiled.

"Not yet, I am still talking to you. Draco… Thank you, so much. It is likely that I could have fallen to my death if not for you, you saved me," then she frowned, "OH NO! You didn't get the snitch because of me! I'm so sorry! That means that you guys lost!" Draco chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Silly, little Mugglemuffin," She smiled at her nickname, "you're right, I didn't catch the snitch, but my team is just so superior that we won anyways, we're now in second place. And don't you ever apologize for my saving your life, I would do it again in a heartbeat… though I'd rather you were never placed in a situation like that again so actually I wouldn't, because then I might not get there in time, and you could get hurt, and I'd forever live with the guilt that-" Hermione cut him off.

"Draco, you're rambling… Stop," Draco smiled at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I'm just kind of nervous, I'm working up the courage to ask you something." Well, that certainly got Hermione's attention.

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Patience, young grasshopper." Hermione burst out laughing at him.

"That's a muggle quote!"

"Your point?" he raised his left eyebrow perfectly - a talent that no one but a Malfoy had.

"It's just funny to hear you say it, but please continue!" she giggled.

"Glad to know I amuse you, I don't think I want to ask you anymore," he looked away.

"Oh, come on, Draco! Please! Pretty please? I'll even let you call me Mugglemuffin! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please?"

"OK! Jeez, shut up," he started muttering about muggles and their strange persuasive methods.

"I'm not a muggle stupid, I'm a muggleborn, there's a difference,"

"Eh," he shrugged

"URGH, stop irking me you prat," she threw a pillow at him. His seeker reflexes kicked in and he caught the pillow before it touched him.

"Well, aren't you just a violent, little _muggle__._" He smirked. Hermione frowned and gave him the puppy eyes.

"Awe, come on! Don't do that, my mum always does! Granger!" Finally, he sighed.

"Fine, I'll ask you what I wanted to." Hermione looked at him expectantly. "Hermione, will you go to the ball with me?" Hermione's smile faltered, Draco felt like waves crashed down upon him from seeing that one small move…

* * *

After Harry left the hospital wing, he didn't actually discuss Quidditch tactics with his team, he felt like being alone at the moment. He decided to walk down to the lake, it was always peaceful and quiet there, he knew he could have a moment alone there. He waved goodbye to Ginny and Ron and rushed away - he didn't feel like being followed either. He walked at a brisk pace down to the lake, and sat down by the tree. _The_ tree, as they named it, was the tree that the trio had always spent at least one day before the end of the year at. They just sat and reminisced together, had a few laughs and went back inside. He loved it here; it was a place for him and his friends. He got up and leaned over the lake, he stared out at the calm waters of the lake, deep in thought. He wanted to ask Luna to the ball, that much he knew for sure. He just didn't know how to go about doing it! He didn't want to just walk up to her and ask her, but he had a feeling that that's what it would come to. All he needed was a sign, anything, something, to make him man up! Make him ask her!

"Hi, Harry," said a dreamy voice. _SPLASH_. Harry fell into the water after being startled by _her_ voice. He came up for air, spluttering to breathe.

"HI, LUNA," he said. "Lovely day for a swim don't you think?" Luna stared at him, a soft smile playing around her lips.

"Would you like a hand, Harry?"

"Uh yea, that'd be nice," he muttered, swimming to the edge of the lake. Luna helped him out of the lake and dried him off with a quick drying spell. She stared at him for a moment, touched her Butterbeer cork necklace and looked at Harry.

"Would you like to go to the ball with me, Harry?" Harry looked up at her in shock, did she just… no she couldn't have… but she did!

"Luna! No, I was going to ask you! Now I can't!" He frowned. Luna smiled,

"Ok, let's act like I never asked you. Hello, Harry, how are you?"

"Luna," he shook his head, "you can't just act like you never asked me now, and it's not the same if I ask you now,"

"What are you taking about Harry? Ask what?" she asked, feigning a complete look of confusion. Well, Luna would be Luna, best let her have her way he figured.

"Luna Lovegood, would you do the honor of accompanying me to the ball on the 31st of December please?"

"Oh, well I'll have to think about that, Harry,"

"Luna!"

"Alright, I'll go with you, Harry. Bye! I'm going hunting for narles!" And she skipped off, back to the castle, just like that. That girl would be the death of him.

* * *

"Oy, Red!" Ginny Weasley smiled, she knew that voice.

"Hello, Blaise!" she replied, as she kept walking. He caught up to her in a few short steps thanks to his long legs.

"Ginny," he acknowledged.

"Blaise," she nodded.

"Weasley."

"Zabini."

"Right, we can do this for days, or I can get on with this. You, me, ball, yes?"

"Okay."

"Good." Blaise walked off. Ginny stood there… had she just agreed to go to the ball with Blaise? Her mind started screaming at her, shrieking with joy, she was going to the ball with Blaise! She smiled and kept walking, what an interesting day this was.

* * *

**HEHEHE, I left you in suspense with Draco and Hermione! But at least you find out about Luna, Harry, Ginny and Blaise. Mwahahaha :) See how fast Blaise was opposed to Harry? Tsk Tsk Harry.**

**Thank you for reviewing! Please don't forget to review this chapter! Reviews are what make an author keep going you know?**

**Thank you to my amazing Beta! See you in a week!**


	14. That Hermione Granger

**JK Rowling is my childhood and role model.**

* * *

_"Fine, I'll ask you what I wanted to." Hermione looked at him expectantly. "Hermione, will you go to the ball with me?" Hermione's smile faltered, Draco felt like waves crashed down upon him from seeing that one small move…_

When Draco saw Hermione's smile waver, he felt like an idiot. Of course she wouldn't want to go with him. What was he thinking? Sure, they liked each other that didn't mean she wanted to go out with him, he felt like the world's biggest moron.

"Could you repeat that please?" asked Hermione hesitantly. _Oh great, now she wants to prolong my humiliation._ Draco thought angrily.

"I think you heard me the first time," he bit out; he couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes and see the rejection.

"Please, just repeat it Draco," she said softly.

"Don't see why I should," he muttered, but decided to let her have fun before he left her completely. "Will you go to the ball with me? There," he huffed, standing up and turning around, preparing to leave. What he didn't expect was her warm hand to grab him around his wrist, preventing his departure.

"Yes." Wait, what? Did Draco just hear her say yes? He wasn't sure, and he wasn't going to turn around and ask her if that's what she had said either in fear that he'd be wrong. He made as to move, but her grip tightened.

"I would love to go to the ball with you Draco," she stated firmly. Now he knew he wasn't imagining things. He swiveled in his spot, pinning her to the hospital bed with his intense gaze.

"Did- did you just agree to go to the ball with me?" he asked in shock.

"Of course I did, why wouldn't I?" Hermione was confused.

"B-but, you looked like you were rejecting me!" he accused.

"No no! I mean, I was in shock! I didn't think you'd actually ask me! So you took me by surprise!" she defended herself.

"What do you mean you didn't think I'd actually ask you. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well- uh, you see I kind of thought that you would be too scared or something to ask me," she muttered. Draco stared at her blankly.

"Scared. You thought that I, Draco Malfoy would be scared of something as insignificant as asking someone to a ball. Really now?" he retorted.

"Oh come on! The point is you asked, I said yes and we are now going to the ball together. Kapeesh?"

"Well, wow, I-OK!" He beamed, leaning down to grab her around the middle and hug her.

"OW!" she groaned.

"Oh, right, pain. Sorry!" he apologized. Draco was ecstatic, he couldn't wait to tell Blaise that he got a date before him, in fact, he'd go find that little bugger right now and rub it in his face that Draco got a date before he could. Oh sweet victory.

"I'd love to stay and chat and keep you company, but I have a best friend who will murder me if he finds out I didn't tell him right away that you agreed, bye!" he leaned down and kissed her cheek without realizing it and rushing out of the room as if though it was nothing. What he didn't notice was a flustered Hermione put her hand to her cheek in shock. He kissed her!

* * *

Draco sprinted to a halt in front of the great hall. Where could Blaise be? Draco doubted that he was outside; there was nothing for him to do out there. He definitely wasn't down in the dungeons, too dark and cold. Nobody voluntarily liked spending time there. He stood there for about five minutes contemplating where he could be when he noticed a bob of black hair bounce up the staircase.

"PANS!" Pansy turned in her spot upon hearing her best friend's voice. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," she said a little too quickly for Draco's liking. He narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't have time to give her the third degree. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"Have you seen Blaise anywhere?" He noticed Pansy let out a deep breath. That girl was definitely up to something.

"Oh yeah, I saw him walking around near the kitchens a few minutes ago," she offered, hoping he'd leave her alone so she could continue with her business.

"Thanks," Draco said slowly, "Just so you know Pans, I know you're up to something, and believe me when I say I'm going to find out what," he warned. Pansy just smirked and bounded up the stairs before he could say anything else. He shook his head at her retreating figure and walked off in the direction of the kitchens.

He'd only made it a few short steps when the doors to the Great Hall opened and he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, just the person I was hoping to find," announced the voice of Professor McGonagall. Draco grimaced; he really did not want to be talking to her right now.

"Professor," he acknowledged as he turned to face the Transfigurations Professor, pasting a smile on his face.

"I would like you in my office tonight at seven," she noticed Draco frown and continued, "we will be starting your private Animagus lessons tonight," Draco's frown quickly turned itself around and he smirked at the professor. A Malfoy does not smile. Unless it's towards their mother… or Hermione… or their friends…or unless they're really happy. Actually, a Malfoy just doesn't smile towards a teacher, at least that's what Draco was told growing up.

"That'd be fantastic Professor, I'll see you after dinner," and he made a mad dash down the corridor before she could stop him. He sprinted the rest of the way towards the Kitchens and upon his arrival, he noticed that Blaise was nowhere in sight. That left one place; he waltzed up to the portrait of the pear and tickled it. Before he knew it, the portrait had swung open, granting him entrance. The sight that met his eyes made him chuckle. There was Blaise, being waited on- no, smothered by hundreds of little House-Elves. He didn't seem to mind though. After all, he was used to this kind of attention.

"Ah, Drake my boy, pull up a chair!" sang Blaise as he noticed Draco standing in a corner watching him… it was a little creepy. The elves turned their attention to Draco and half of them made their way over to him, striving to please the two wizards in any way that they could.

"Dobby!" Draco called, ignoring his friend who returned to his glass of firewhiskey. All the elves quieted down as a lone House-Elf made its way over to Draco.

"Yes, former master sir?" squeaked Dobby, looking down at the ground as he was always taught during his time at the Manor. That wouldn't do. Draco bent down so that he would be eye-level with his former servant.

"Dobby, look at me," he commanded, Dobby reluctantly raised his head, looking at Draco's chin. "Look me in the eyes Dobby," Draco clarified. After a minute or so it seemed, Dobby looked into Draco's eyes, for the very first time.

"I want you to try to forget everything that ever happened at the Manor please," Draco pleaded; he knew that Hermione would appreciate this. "I know that it will be hard, but I want you to treat me like any other normal student here Dobby, I don't want you to remember me as the cruel little boy that you helped raised. Please? Can you do that for me? As one last task?" Draco held his breath, he hoped that Dobby would take him up on his offer, he didn't want the little elf to be scared of him anymore, he wanted to put those days behind him.

"Yes, sir," squeaked Dobby. Draco smiled and stood up, he nodded at the house elf and walked over to Blaise. For a bloke who was on the Quidditch team and liked taking runs around the lake in the morning, he really was one of the laziest people Draco knew, and that was saying something seeing as how he knew Crabbe and Goyle. Draco dragged Blaise over to the little booth that was in the Kitchen and sat him down. He slid in across from him and grinned.

"Guess what," Draco requested politely. Blaise looked at him critically, he furrowed his eyebrows and then relaxed his face.

"No," he declined. Draco glared at his friend and chucked an apple at his face. Blaise grabbed it mid-air and took a large bite out of it.

'Blaise!" Draco whined. He was so bringing him down from his high.

"Draco!" Blaise mimicked.

"Zabini! Just guess!" Draco ordered.

"Uh- no," Blaise smirked.

"I hate you, you are no longer my best friend, it's just Pansy now," Draco pouted.

"That's fine with me, let me know how your man-to-man, oh wait, sorry, I mean, man-to-_woman _talks go. I'm sure she'd love listening to you ramble on and on about girls and how much you like their-" Draco promptly shut his friend up.

"You're a right wanker you know that? Don't know why I keep you around," grumbled Draco. Blaise took a swig of his drink.

"I'm going to the ball with Weasley," Draco stared at him, eyes bugged out, he threw a banana at Blaise's face. Blaise grabbed it and stared at it curiously, then he set it back on the table.

"You git! You're trying to steal my thunder!" Draco accused, pointing a finger at Blaise. He merely swatted it aside like a fly.

"I assure you, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Blaise drawled.

"I was _trying_ to tell you that I'm going to the ball with Hermione!" Draco exclaimed.

"Well, when did you get the balls to ask her out?" Blaise laughed.

"Why does everyone think I'd be too scared?" Draco asked, more to himself than to the male sitting opposite him.

"Uh, maybe because you're afraid of rejection?" offered his friend. Draco just glared at him and offered no response.

"Pass me the firewhiskey," he grumbled.

* * *

Pansy bounded up the stairs quickly so that she could get away from Draco. She had business to take care of. She'd been putting this off for far too long and it was about time that she dealt with it. She made her way to her destination and slowly pushed open the doors. After a quick look around, she saw what she'd come looking for. She walked over and sat herself down. After not being noticed she spoke,

"Hello Granger,"

Hermione's eyes shot open as she heard a female voice from behind her address her. She slowly turned in the bed so that she could get a good look at her visitor. She definitely was not expecting Pansy Parkinson to be visiting her in the Hospital Wing.

"Hello…" replied Hermione cautiously, until she knew what Pansy was doing there, she was going to be on her guard.

"Don't look so scared, I'm obviously not going to hurt you," Pansy scoffed," I'm here to talk to you," she stated.

Hermione eyed Pansy, sizing her up as if to determine whether or not she could trust the girl her best friend was going out with. Finally, she relented.

"What would you like to talk about?" Hermione asked, sitting up in her bed. She winced in pain.

"How much longer are you here for?" Pansy asked curiously, the head girl seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"Well, Madam Pomfrey said that I can leave tomorrow morning. The pain should be all gone by then,"

"That's good," the two of them sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Neither of them knowing what to say, Pansy was the first to relent.

"Alright, so the reason that I'm here, and please do not interrupt me, is because I want to talk to you about Draco,"

"Why d-" Pansy glared at her and Hermione shut up.

"I know that Draco likes you, and as his best female friend it is my duty to protect him from little gold-digger tramps that will walk all over him,"

"Are you calling me a gold-digging tramp?" Hermione demanded, growing angry.

"Calm down," Pansy rolled her eyes, "I'm not calling you anything, I'm just saying that as his best friend I need to protect him,"

"Well, while we're on the subject of best friends protecting each other, if you hurt Ron in any way shape or form, I will hurt you. Harry wouldn't because you're a girl, but if you hurt my best friend, I will hex you very badly," Pansy knew Hermione meant business, and she for one did not want to get on the bad side of the smartest witch of the year.

"I won't hurt Ron."

"And I won't hurt Draco."

"Good."

"Great."

"Fantastic!

"Fabulous!"

"Alright!"

"Okay!"

"Want to go dress shopping with Ginny, Luna and I tomorrow?"

"Sure," Pansy shrugged.

* * *

**So, hello there. I am the worst person ever aren't I? I would have updated but the site was not working for me like all week! It kept saying error when I tried to click things O_O. But never fear! It's working again And then I realized I forgot to thank the reviewers last chapter… I fail. Did anyone else catch JK on Oprah Friday? I did! I practically squealed when she didn't rule out the possibility of another potter book. QUESTION: If she wrote another book, what would you want to see? ALSO: I may not be able to update as often because I'm really busy with school at the moment and have no spare time to write :( BUT I will never leave this story, know that for sure!**

** Anyways, I'd like to thank my reviewers and readers! I'll be responding to your reviews from the past two chapters below. :]**

**THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!**

**KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun: Hehe, I'm sorry! Atleast you got to find out what happened Luna wears the pants in the relationship ;P**

**Karate Chic: :) Lol, I apologize for leaving you hanging, I did feel bad about it though, cliffies always get me :D**

**edwardsoneandonlylove: You are such a great reviewer! You've reviewed every chapter and that makes me soo happy. Haha it's all his fault that she got hurt! I agree, hotness is taken to a whole new level with him! I wish we could all meet someone like him. Harry is a romantic, he just sucks at going about it. And Blaise, well… it's like he has this romantic spot hidden deep DEEP down inside of him. :)**

**roni2010 : The slytherins didn't actually lose! Hufflepuff was just so bad during the game that even with the snitch they couldn't beat Slytherin :)**

**RozaBaksh : Thank you!**

**Minnieismyidol : I'm happy they won too! I love slytherin.**

**Snapesdiary : I was worried that people might not like the pairings I chose so thanks for saying that you do!**

**Siriuslyback : Thanks for reviewing ! And voila! She did say yes!**

**Tishica : Awee, thanks!**

**XAnnabubbleX : I was grinning throughout your whole review :) Yay, my first award! :D Awee, I'd honestly love it if you'd write me a one-shot. That's one of the nicest things ever! I love Draco too! Let's share him… or just concede and give him to me, that works too :)**

**midnightstar4ever : Lol! For my cake, since my mom is a diabetic, they deicded to get the family a gross little fruitcake, and get the birthday girl a single slice of the choclatiest cake ever! I think it should have been the other way around though, :D I'm also a Slytherin at heart. Hehe**

**Genesis Wentz : Thanks!**

**Lil: Tyvm**

**roni2010 : Awe thanks a lot!**

**Tori Sohma : I seriously am so glad that you love it : )**

**EkoMayBelle : Thank you !**

**TempeBooth1 : Sorry you had to wait two weeks! : ( Haha I was like.. I like muffins… hmm what kind of food starts with a M for muggle? It was either Mugglemuffin or Mugglemeatloaf… I chose the former. :D**

**Thanks for reading! As always, please review and thank you to my Beta!**


	15. Let's show Moaning Myrtle our Ball Gowns

**Everything belongs to JK Rowling :D**

* * *

Hermione woke that morning to a very annoying and consistent poke in her stomach. With her eyes closed, hoping to fall back asleep, she tried swatting it away. That didn't work. She tried hitting it. That didn't work; finally she muttered a wandless _levicorpus._

"AARGH!" Hermione's eyes shot open as she heard a very familiar male yell. Hoping it wasn't what she thought it was, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up. Yup, there was Draco Malfoy, hanging midair by the foot, flailing his arms about.

"GRANGER PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" he hollered. Now Hermione, being the intelligent wonderful kind human being that she is thought about that. Get him down? Or Leave him hanging for a while? Unfortunately, her good side got the better of her. She stood up and thought, _Liberacorpus_.

**CRASH**

_Oops…_ Maybe she should have put something down to cushion his fall. Oh well, it can't be helped.

Draco glared up at her as he got up off the ground while rubbing his butt, trying to get rid of the pain. He better not have broken it or something. He stood on his feet and walked over to Hermione. He looked down on her, trying to intimidate her. He was pretty angry. Here he was, the nice amazing gentleman, trying to help a poor damsel out of the hospital wing… what does he end up with? A broken butt. He glared at her, narrowing her eyes. But then that little she-devil grinned up at him, using _the_ ultimate weapon. The puppy dog eyes. He _hated_ it when Pansy or his mother used them, now Granger was too! The poor life of Draco Malfoy, all his resolve to be angry with her melted away as she smiled.

"Hmph," he grunted, crossing his arms and looking away. He wordlessly handed her her wand, trying to appear like he was still angry with her.

"Awe, don't be mad! I thought you were a fly!" she grabbed her wand.

"So you tried to _levicorpus_ a fly? Who does that?" Hermione just grinned.

"It's early, I can't be a genius all the time you know. Speaking of early… what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm springing you from this jail," he tried to sound all chivalrous.

"I don't need springing, Madame Pompfrey said I could leave today anyway," she snorted. Oh right, he forgot about that.

"Well, then I'm assisting you. Don't be so ungrateful," he joked.

"Oh don't worry! I'm not, you can carry my books for me!" She pointed to a huge stack of textbooks. He just rolled his eyes at her and shrunk the books with his wand and stuck them with his pocket.

"Silly Mugglemuffin can't even remember to use magic," he muttered. Hermione responded by sticking her tongue out at him and marching out the door. He followed behind her.

"What time is it?" she asked, slowing down so they could walk side by side.

"8," he replied.

"Oh! I'm supposed to meet Luna and Ginny at the great hall at 8:30, oh well I still have time," she nodded to herself before a look of horror came upon her face, "oh no! I never told Pansy when to meet us!" She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Draco.

He smiled and shook his head. He pushed her forward and kept walking.

"She'll be in the great hall now anyway, you can just grab her and go," he informed her.

"Oh, phew! Thank Merlin. Not really in the mood to walk around the castle looking for her, I want to go straight to Hogsmeade!" She made a punching motion with her hand. _What a weird little thing she is,_ thought Draco.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for inviting Pansy out with you guys," he looked at her.

"I'm happy to have done it, she seems like a pretty nice person," Hermione smiled.

"Yeah, she walked into the common room yesterday and casually mentioned you invited her to come with you today. She laughed when my jaw dropped. I know she can seem like a pretty rude person, but she really doesn't have any female friends so I think you'll be a good influence on her," he thanked.

"Yeah, besides, now that she's pretty much dating my best friend, she's joining our group. Just like you and Blaise! Slithering your ways into our amazing little Gryffindor group. I always knew you wished you were one of us," she smirked. He playfully pushed her away.

"Yeah right," he scoffed.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he looked around.

"Oh, we're going to our rooms, I need to get changed and put away my stuff," she said.

Right, obviously that's where they were going seeing as how they were taking the only route that led there. He really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings.

Hermione muttered the password and the portrait swung open.

"Could you please put my books on the desk?" she asked. Draco complied and unshrunk the seven text-books that were in his pocket.

"You know Granger, normal people rest when they are in the hospital, not do their homework,"

"Oh I wasn't doing my homework, I'm done all that, and I was just doing some light reading,"

Draco stared at her… she really needed a life, and he told her so.

"Hermione, I say this because I care, please get a life," he took her by the shoulders.

"Har-har, you amuse me Draco Malfoy, now bugger off. Go find Blaise or something. I need to go get ready," she shook him off and walked towards the stairs.

"You're welcome!" he shouted after her, "So rude." He stood there for a while before deciding to take her advice and he left to find his best friend.

Upstairs after having just taken a hot shower, Hermione walked over to her closet. She needed to wear something flexible. Something she could easily take off since they would be trying on dresses today. With that thought in mind, Hermione's eyes drifted over to a sweater dress that she had, warm, comfy and easy to take off. Perfect. She slipped it on with a pair of leggings; after all, it was almost winter so it was a bit chilly outside. She dried her hair with her wand and grabbed her money bag.

Hermione stepped down the stairs leading into the foyer of the great hall and she saw a flash of blonde and red hair standing by the doors. She made her way over and then suddenly, she was attacked!

"Urgh, geroff me!" she mumbled through the red hair in her face.

"Oh Mione! Thank goodness you're alright!" shrieked Ginny.

"Hello Hermione, I knew you'd be alright, the Blibbering Humdingers told me so," Hermione and Ginny just looked at Luna oddly, before deciding it would be best not to comment.

"Right, let's go shopping!" cried Ginny, dragging Hermione to the door.

"Wait!" Hermione halted in her steps, forcing Ginny to stop. "Um, I don't know how you guys will feel about this, but I invited Pansy to come with us," Ginny's jaw dropped.

"Hermione! Why would you do that! She's a Slytherin!"

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "And here I was under the impression that you were going to the ball with a Slytherin? The same Slytherin who is best friends with Pansy." Ginny huffed and looked away. "Look, I know we don't know her that well, but we might as well get to know her, she is Draco and Blaise's best friend, and she's pretty much dating your brother, it can't hurt can it? Besides, Draco thinks it's a good idea."

"Well, if _darling_ Draco thinks so, then it must be a swell idea!" Ginny turned to face Luna. Hermione smiled at her friends antics and knew that she was okay with Pansy coming along.

"Just wait here, I'll go get her from the Great Hall," she didn't receive a response so she shrugged and turned around. First thing she did as she entered was head over to Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table so that she could grab a piece of toast. A girl's got to eat after all.

"Good Morning!" she grinned. Her friends glared at her.

"It's too early, go away," mumbled Ron through a mouth full of oatmeal.

"Ronald, that is disgusting, please close your mouth and chew so that you don't spew your food over everyone," Hermione wrinkled her nose. Ron responded by throwing a grape at her.

"Off to Hogsmeade Hermione?" asked Harry, preventing the argument from escalading.

"Yes! Which reminds me, behave today please, and try not to get into any trouble. I know it'll be hard for you two, but just try," Hermione smiled and turned around, scanned the Slytherin table and made her way over to the black haired girl flipping through the pages of a magazine. She rolled her eyes as from behind her she heard Ron say, "We never get into trouble, don't know what she thi- wait, Harry, why's she going over to the Slytherin table? Why's she going over to Pansy!"

"Hello Pansy, are you ready to go?" Asked Hermione as she nervously stood in front of the girl, she wasn't going to admit it, but being in enemy territory bothered her just a little. The Slytherins didn't bother her or anything, but it's only natural for a Gryffindor to be cautious of the little Snakes.

Pansy looked up at her and nodded. She put away her magazine nicely in her bag and stood up.

"Do your friends know that I'm coming along?" She asked.

"Of course! I just told them actually,"

"And are they okay with it?"

"They couldn't be happier" Hermione lied.

Pansy looked at her, a bit skeptical, but just nodded as they exited the Great Hall and walked over to Ginny and Luna.

"Hello Pansy," said Luna serenely.

"Lov- Luna," Pansy stumbled over her mistake. Luna was being more than cordial to her, the least she could do was return the favor. Ginny just looked at the girl, Pansy looked back. They seemed to be sizing each other up, Hermione and Luna - well Hermione mostly since Luna was staring off into space – looked at the two girls stare at each other, it was best not to get involved.

"If you hurt my brother, so help me Merlin, I will make you regret it," warned Ginny. Pansy scoffed.

"Save it Weasley, _Hermione_ already said this little speech to me," Ginny glared at Hermione.

"Hey! I'm the one who's supposed to warn her Mione!"

"Sorry," she apologized half-heartedly, "let's go!" She opened up the doors and left, knowing that the girls would be following behind her.

It was a beautiful day, just a bit nippy. The walk into Hogsmeade was a bit awkward to say the least, Hermione tried to make conversation but she only got one worded answers in reply, Luna was too distracted to contribute to anything Hermione said.

"Uh, well which shop should we go to?"

"Well, Madam Malkin has set up a temporary shop at Gladrags Wizardwear, there are loads of dresses there," offered Pansy.

Hermione smiled thankfully at her, "Well let's start there then."

The girls walked over to the shop and the bell tinkled as they walked in.

"Urgh, not more!" shouted a voice, "never should have done this, should have stayed in Diagon Alley!" they muttered. Madam Malkin appeared over a stack of robes, glaring at the four girls.

"Oh! Miss Parkinson! I apologize, I didn't realize that it was you! How may I help you?" the seamstress quickly changed her demeanor.

"Madam, my friends here require attire for our ball, I trust you have something suitable for them," Pansy raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to say no.

"O-of course Miss, right this way," she disappeared behind the stack, leaving the girl's to follow her.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna stared wide-eyed at Pansy. She noticed this and offered them a small shrug.

"Pansy! What was that?" demanded Hermione, not angry but surprised.

"You think that was bad? You should see shop-owners when one a Malfoy enters their stores. As it is, my mother and I are long-time customers of Madam Malkin so she always treats us a bit above everyone else, a bit annoying actually," she rolled her eyes and followed the path that Madam Malkin had taken. The girls looked at each other but followed Pansy. They ended up in the back of the store where Madam Malkin was bringing out a large variety of beautiful dresses. Every color, every style imaginable!

'Miss Parkinson, this blue color would really bring out the color of your eyes! It would look magnificent on you!"

"I have already purchased my dress, we only need them for these three," Pansy walked over to the mannequins that modeled all the dresses.

"Oh, alright, how about this red one for you?" Madam Malkin pointed to a hideous princess style dress and looked at Ginny. Pansy saved her the trouble of responding by answering herself.

"Madam Malkin, just because I am not in need of a dress, does not mean that you will not make an effort with these young ladies. I expect nothing but the best for them. In fact, I will find the dresses, you may go," Pansy waved her hand and Madam Malkin apologized and left.

"Pansy, that wasn't very necessary, was it?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione, we'll get this done much easier without her, besides, I'm going to be a designer when I finish Hogwarts, I do think that I know what will look good on you guys or not, did you see how she offered that red dress to Ginny? Not only was it atrocious, that color would clash horribly with her hair!" Ginny nodded.

"She's right Hermione, she wasn't exactly making an effort to help us," everyone stared at Ginny in surprise, she just agreed with Pansy! Hermione sighed in defeat, knowing that they were right.

"When did you get your dress?" She asked instead.

"Oh, a few weeks back, I ordered it from a catalogue. That reminds me, none of you are wearing green since I am,"

"I hope you realize that Ron hates the color green," Ginny went back to acting like herself.

"He won't hate the color when he sees it on me," Pansy smirked. "Now, let's start with you Weasley," She pointed to the little couch in front of the changing room and commanded the three girls to sit. Pansy walked up to Ginny, looked her over, and nodded her head a few times as she muttered under her breath.

"No pink or red. No green. No warm colors. Nothing poufy. Nothing short," Finally she turned around and started to point at different dresses with her wand. After about five minutes of this she clapped her hands together.

"Good, now go to the dressing room and inside you'll find a bunch of dresses," Ginny stood up, "to try them on, simply point at the dress and say _Portis_ and it will appear on you in your size. When it is on, I want you to come out and show us and we'll tell you how it looks," Ginny looked like she wanted to object, but thought better of it, at least Pansy knew what she was doing.

The first dress Ginny came out in was the blue one that Madam Malkin picked out for Pansy. The girls liked it, but decided that it wasn't the one for her.

Ginny tried on multiple dresses, blues, blacks, golds. Finally she stepped out in a form-fitting silver dress.

Hermione gasped, even Luna looked awe-struck. Pansy smiled proudly.

"That's it!" the three girls cried at the same time. Ginny looked into the mirror at the dress. It had a corset for the top and the rest of the material fell down her legs gracefully. It was beautiful.

"Did you know that silver is Blaise's favorite color?" smirked Pansy. Ginny blushed and walked back into the dressing room and changed into her normal clothes. She walked out, hugging the dress.

"I'll take it!" she grinned. Pansy stood up and waved her wand at the remaining dresses so that they would go back to their mannequins. It was Luna's turn.

"Luna, come here," As much as Luna would have loved to make her own dress, she let Pansy have her fun and find one for her. She could always add her own touch to it later. Pansy repeated the same procedure with Luna and wordlessly pointed to the dressing room so that Luna could go and try on the dresses.

Every single dress that Luna came out in was either pink or light blue, and they had to admit, they all looked so absolutely stunning on her that it was hard to decide which one looked best. She finally stepped out in a pale pink dress that made the girls squeal.

"That's it! That's the one!" cheered Ginny.

"Whoa Luna, where have you been hiding all these years?" cried a stunned Pansy. All her friends looked fabulous and she was worried that she wouldn't look half as good.

Luna smiled happily and changed back into her normal clothes. Finally it was Hermione's turn.

Pansy stood in front of her for what seemed like ages, looking her over and furrowing her brows.

"It's a shame that green would look so good on you," she finally said. Hermione stayed silent and let Pansy do her thing.

"No, no, EW, no, ugly, gross, hideous, absolutely not, ugh, no," that was all Hermione could hear from Pansy as she observed the dresses. Every once in a while she would send a dress over to the dressing room. Finally, after twenty minutes of this, she was done.

"You are extremely hard to find a dress for," Pansy glared at her as if it was her fault. Hermione shrugged and walked into the dressing room. She waved her wand at a random blue dress and walked out without looking at herself.

Pansy immediately shook her head and Hermione walked back in. Next was a white one, then a black one. None were good enough. She then got to the group of red dresses.

"As well as you represent your house colors, that dress is not good enough," Hermione marched back into the dressing room. Twenty dresses later, and fifteen different shades of red later she finally got to the last batch of dresses. There was a cream colored one and an amethyst colored one. The cream one was what she tried on first.

"Oh what a hideous dress! How did that end up in there?" cried Pansy. Hermione groaned and went back in. There was only one dress left and she made up her mind. Even if they didn't like it, she was going to get it. It couldn't be that bad on her after all. As long as she still looked like a girl, then she'd get it. She waved her wand and stepped out. Everything was silent. Finally Pansy started to clap.

"Who would have thought that the resident book-worm actually had curves beneath all those frumpy clothes of hers," she smirked.

"You. Look. So. Hot. In. That. Dress," was all Ginny said.

Luna just smiled at her.

"Is it really that nice?" asked Hermione, a bit skeptical.

"Yes! And if you don't get it, we will never speak to you again!" threatened Ginny.

"Ok ok!" Hermione laughed and walked back into the dressing room. She looked into the mirror and let out a gasp. It really did look good on her! She grinned and walked back out.

"Now, we need to pick out some shoes and jewelry," stated Pansy. The three girls clutched their dresses as they followed Pansy over to the shoes. She picked up a pair of silver heels and tossed them to Ginny. The white ones were for Luna and the black ones for Hermione. She then picked out a pair of silver ones for herself, completely different from Ginny's of course.

Next was the jewelry. Hermione looked at a beautiful silver diamond necklace and reached out to touch it but her hand was slapped away by Madam Malkin.

"That one is reserved Miss," Hermione didn't notice Pansy smirk out of the corner of her eye. Instead she looked at the bracelets and settled on a chunky purple bracelet. Luna got a thin gold bracelet and matching earrings and Ginny got silver bangles and chandelier style earrings. Pansy didn't need any jewelry since she had a very large collection back home that her mother would send her items from. The girls each paid for their purchases and walked out of the store with Hermione looking longingly back at the necklace that was reserved.

"Should we go and get some Butterbeer?" asked Ginny.

"Might as well," responded Hermione. The four girls walked over to the three broomsticks and ordered their drinks. They sat at a table for four and sipped on their beverages.

"Thanks for the help Parki-Pansy," thanked Ginny. She said it a bit reluctantly but the girls knew that she meant it.

"You're welcome, thank you for letting me come with you guys, I had fun."

The words exchanged between the two girls broke the silence around them and they all started to chatter happily about the guys...

* * *

Speaking of the guys, Ron and Harry made their way down to the lake so that they could catch some sun after a morning of being cooped up inside finishing Snape's essay.

They sat down under their tree and heard a groan come from beside them

"Ugh! Why do you have to ruin our perfectly good morning!" whined Draco from the tree beside theirs where he sat with Blaise.

"Us ruin your morning? You ruined our morning!" protested Ron.

"No you did!"

"No I didn't it was you!" They continued to bicker like children not seeing Harry and Blaise get up and sit beside each other in the space between the two trees.

"Zabini."

"Potter."

"Doing well?"

"As well as one can be, yourself?"

"I'm doing alright."

Draco and Ron finally noticed their respective best friends having a friendly conversation with each other.

"Blaise! What are you doing! Stop talking to him!"

"Harry! Get away! He's the enemy!"

"Honestly Ron, you're dating their best friend, you could at least try and get along with them," sighed Harry

"What! I thought you were just taking her to the bal?" Glared Draco.

"Same thing for you Drake, I bet Hermione would really like it if you made peace with her best friends," Blaise added.

"But I don't want to!" Ron and Draco protested at the exact same time. They looked at each other and glared, then looked away quickly.

"Such children," Harry shook his head.

"So pathetic," agreed Blaise.

They were all silent for a moment before Harry decided to speak.

"Hey Malfoy, I just want you to know, Hermione's like my sister, and if you ever hurt her, I'll hurt you, badly," Draco glared at Harry, he wasn't going to answer him.

"Well, since we're on the topic, Weasley, Pansy is like my sister, if one hair on her head is harmed, consider the Giant Squid your new best friend because you'll be living with him," said Blaise.

"Yeah, well Ginny _is_ my sister, I don't like you. But I can't make her stop liking you, don't know what she sees in you but if anything ever happens to her, be it physical or emotional, I'll make you regret it. Heck, not just me, but all the Weasley brothers will come after you," Ron shook his fist at Blaise who grimaced; he did not want to get on the bad side of the six Weasley brothers. He would definitely not come away from that the victor.

"Well, since everyone's threatening each other, Potter, if you hurt Lovegood, I hope you fall off the astronomy tower and break every single bone in your body and are thus unable to ever move again and then Lovegood can go find some guy who believes all her wacky stuff and have little Looney non-Potter babies. Merlin knows we don't need any more of you in this world," Draco shivered in disgust.

Everyone stared at Draco oddly.

"Why are you defending her honor?" asked Ron.

"Well... no one else was."

"Right…"

"Yeah."

"Want to go play some quidditch?" asked Blaise, looking around. The three boys shrugged and walked off to the quidditch pitch together. Anyone who saw these four together nearly suffered a heart attack or thought that they were hallucinating; no way would these bitter enemies ever hang out together. It was just too unlikely.

* * *

**HELLO! So I'm sorry for the long break in-between these chapters. I've been so busy lately! I finally just managed to find some time for this chapter. Now, I know how I want this story to end and everything, all I need to do is type it up :) Schools been keeping me very busy lately, it's gotten much harder sadly. Anyways,**

**I would like to thank all my reviewers. You guys are honestly so great and I love logging on and having that message saying I got a new review. I smile :D**

**ANYWAYS, I will see you when I see you I suppose, and please Review!**


	16. The Reluctant Dragon

**Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night! Sorry for the delay!**

* * *

"Mister Malfoy! Concentrate! How do you expect to conquer your Animagus forms if you do not even try?" demanded Professor McGonagall.

"With all due respect, Professor, I honestly don't think I can do this and it was your idea for me to try," huffed Draco Malfoy. He was tired and hungry.

_He was speeding towards the snitch, it was within his grasp! He was finally going to catch it before Potter did. He dodged the bludger Weasley hit at him. That's when he heard someone call his name. In his moment of distraction Harry burst forward and grabbed the snitch from under Draco's nose. Draco meanwhile groaned and sped to the ground where a little first year was shaking in his shoes at the sight of the angry Malfoy._

"_What do you want?" he gritted through his teeth._

"_Pr-pro-professor McGonagall wishes to s-see you in her o-office sir," he squeaked before running away like there was a blast-ended skrewt behind him._

_The others, who heard the exchange came up behind Draco and Blaise went,_

"_OOH, you are in trouble!"_

"_Shut it__,__ Blaise," grunted Draco before walking off towards the school. Blaise and the Gryffindors snickered as he left and decided to grab some lunch._

Seeing as how Draco ended up with the Professor, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and was rather hungry at the moment.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you telling me you wish to stop these private lessons? Lessons that I am taking time out of my schedule to give you?"

"Yes-No- I don't know! I'm tired and we've been practicing for hours now!"

Professor McGonagall eyed him warily, but seeing that he was correct she decided to compromise with him.

"Alright, Mr. Malfoy, if you can transfigure one part of your body, then you may leave and we will continue this tomorrow," she relented.

Draco thought about it, but knew he wouldn't be allowed to leave until he did do as she asked, so he agreed.

"Concentrate, Mr. Malfoy, focus on a part of your body, and imagine it as part of the creature you are trying to become. See the creature, think like the creature,_be_ the creature!"

Draco closed his eyes and thought about his nose. An aristocratic slender nose. Then he thought about the nose of a dragon. _D__id__ a dragon even have a nose?_Since he didn't know, he decided to focus on the mouth instead. He pictured his mouth, and then he pictured the mouth of a dragon,its long snout. He imagined opening his mouth to chew something, and pictured the dragon doing the same thing. He concentrated on every little detail of the dragon's snout. Every scale, every tooth, every jagged line. Finally, he thought '_T__ransformagus__'__, _and immediately he could feel a chill in his mouth. He concentrated harder and he could feel his skin changing. It almost felt like the time that he was turned into a ferret, but this was different. He wasn't freaking out; he was staying perfectly calm and collected. He wanted this. He _needed_ this to happen. At last, he heard Professor McGonagall let out a gasp. She couldn't believe it! Draco opened his eyes and looked into the mirror that was across from him. He had a snout! He grinned, which - mind you - looked quite frightening with a dragon's snout. McGonagall clapped her hands.

"Bravo, Mr. Malfoy. Congratulations! You are one step closer to conquering your Animagus now!"

_Finite incantantem_, he muttered and watched his face revert to its beautiful, glorious self.

"Thank you, Professor… I've been thinking," He paused and Professor McGonagall nodded for him to continue, "I've been thinking, and I've decided that I only want one of my Animagus forms, I only want the Dragon," Professor McGonagall looked at him, contemplating.

"And what has led you to this decision Mr. Malfoy?"

"Becoming an Animagus is no easy feat. It will be hard enough for me to become the Dragon; I simply do not have the time or willpower to become the Griffin as well. I'm Head boy and Quidditch Captain, this is just not possible for me to do right now,"

"Thank you for being honest with me, Mr. Malfoy. I am pleased that you were forthcoming with this and not determined to do something you do not want. We will continue these lessons every Saturday morning unless you have Quidditch Practice. You may go and grab a bite to eat now," Draco nodded, he was dismissed. Finally, after three long and tiresome hours. Free! He decided to go to the Great Hall where people were sure to be hanging out now that they were back from Hogsmeade. He hoped that Hermione was back so that he could tell her all about his morning.

He walked into the Great Hall looked around. He couldn't see any of his friends at the Slytherin table and he frowned. Well that sucked. Then he heard the bray of a donkey- sorry, the laughter of Ronald and he looked over to the Gryffindor table. What he saw almost made him faint. There was Luna with Harry, Blaise with Ginny, Pansy with Ron and Hermione, all sitting and laughing together. While he knew his friends talked to the Gryffindors, he didn't know that they were on such good terms that they would sit together. Apparently, neither did everyone else. Pretty much all heads were looking toward the group at the table who looked like they'd been friends forever. People then started to notice Draco walking toward the group with a weird look on his face. They started whispering, sure that a confrontation was about to occur. Their eyes widened as he finally approached the group. Instead of starting a duel, as everyone believed, he calmly sat down next to Hermione and grabbed an apple off of Hermione's plate.

He bit into it and chewed slowly. He swallowed and took another bite and finally noticed Hermione staring at him,

"Yes Mugglemuffin?"

"_Muggle muffin_? What the h-" Ron was cut off by Hermione who poked Draco in the chest.

"I. Was. Going. To. Eat. That," she said, punctuating each word with a new poke.

"Oh, well, that's too bad, I'm eating it now," he demonstrated this by taking a nice, big bite out of the apple.

Hermione glared at him before turning back towards the group. Slowly conversation resumed around them. People realized that nothing was going to happen. The opposing house members seemed to have resolved all their issues. Draco finished his apple and put an arm around Hermione, hugging her to him.

"I'm sorry, I just haven't eaten all day and I was really hungry," he whispered in her ear.

Hermione responded by grabbing a plate and filling it up with various treats before handing it to him.

"Eat." She commanded.

"Yes, ma'am!" Draco happily obliged.

"Seriously… what the hell is a Mugglemuffin?"

"It's a nickname, Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"But still… what a random nickname, why are you letting_ him_ call you that?"

"Got a problem, Weasley?" Draco joined the conversation.

"Yeah, why can't you call her _Mione_ like the rest of us?"

"Because, I don't want to be like the rest of you." He took a bite out of his pie.

"What's wrong with us?" cried Ron. The rest of the group just sat back and let the two of them go at it.

"What's not wrong with you?" He retorted.

"Yeah? Well, I don't like Pans, so I'm going to give Pansy my own nickname too! My little…peanut!" He put his arm around Pansy.

The group stared at Ron until he started to feel uncomfortable under their gaze.

"What?" He demanded.

"Ronald Weasley, under no circumstances are you to _ever_ call me that again. I am not little, nor am I a nut." Pansy glared at Ron. He shrank under her glare and muttered an apology.

"Whipped," coughed Draco.

"All right boys, let's be grown-ups now, what did you do today, Draco?" interjected Hermione.

"Well, after you left, Blaise and I went and sat under our tree, when suddenly, a great big frightening red monstrosity snuck up on us and ruined my morning!" Hermione looked really confused at this, but then understood when Ron threw an apple at Draco's head. Draco snatched it out of the air and placed it back on the table.

"Draco," Hermione warned.

"Oh alright, Potter and Weasley showed up and sat under the other tree, we talked, blah-blah-blah, and we played Quidditch-"

"Which we _won_!" added Ron.

"Which they won because a little first year distracted me by calling out my name from the ground." Draco looked around the Great Hall until he found the little squirt. He glared at him and the boy, upon seeing Draco, widened his eyes and ducked under the table.

Draco smirked, satisfied.

"Anyway, then I went to Professor McGonagall's office where we worked on my Animagus form,"

"Oh, Draco! I'm so happy you guys are friends now!" Hermione grinned.

"Who said anything about being friends," he muttered. Hermione ignored this and asked,

"How was your Animagus training?"

"It was tiring… but I was able to transform my mouth into a snout!" he said proudly.

"Oh, Draco! That's great!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him, then she let go of him awkwardly. Draco smiled to himself at her discomfort: she was so cute.

"But I've decided that I don't want to be the Griffin, I'm only going to practice the Dragon," he told the group.

"Why? Because the Griffin is associated with Gryffindor?" asked Ginny.

"You know it, She-Weasel," Blaise hit his friend upside down the head for insulting his sort-of girlfriend. Draco rubbed his head and glared at his best friend.

"I'm not going to be the griffin _because_ I don't have the time for both forms and I prefer the dragon,"

"Well, I think that's a great idea, a Griffin is often associated with having Blubbering Pumpkers around them, which is never a good thing for a Wizard," offered Luna. While everyone else stared at her oddly, Harry just gazed at her admiringly.

"You're so right, Luna," he praised. The group shook their heads at Harry's antics and went back to the subject of Animagus'.

"I hope you are successful, Draco," said Hermione.

"So do I." Draco grinned

* * *

**HELLO! I know it's been a long time! So this was a pretty anti-climatic chapter. Don't worry, the next one will have more Dramione interaction! QUESTION: did you see Darren Criss from AVPM on Glee? I did! He's the only reason I watched it :D**

**Siriuslyback , Minnieismyidol : Thanks for reviewing :D**

**Snapesdiary : Yes, I wanted them all to get along. It's not fun when your boyfriend/girlfriend hates your friends.**

**Jade-loves-Edward: Haha, we'll see! Thank you for reviewing! ;)**

**Nixxo: Thank you very much :)**

**Black-Death-646 : Haha, yes they are! I relate all chapter titles to a quote or song title from the musical. It's such a great musical! Thank you!**

**roni2010 : Thank you, I like Pansy that way too! Thank you for the review ; )**

**jessirose85 : Lol, Draco's extremely random! Thanks for reviewing!**

**edwardsoneandonlylove : HELLO! :D Poor Draco, always getting beat up :) We need more House Unity :) Dumbledore would be proud!**

**Thank you to my beta, and PLEASE review! :)**


	17. Do the things that fathers should do

**Dear Santa: May I please be JK Rowling who is the owner of the most amazing book series in the world for a day? Love Septumsempra!**

* * *

Draco and Hermione bid farewell to their friends at the staircase and decided to walk around the castle together. There was a comfortable silence around them. Hermione's mother had always told her that you know someone is good for you when you can sit with them in silence for hours on end without it seeming awkward. Hermione kept shooting Draco little looks from the corner of her eye and blushed when he caught her.

"Would you like to go and sit by the lake?" he asked.

"Sure," nodded Hermione.

They made their way down to the lake together. It was nice out, but there wasn't many students enjoying the weather. Most of them were inside finishing up their homework. Draco led Hermione to the tree that he and Blaise had been sitting under earlier that day and plunked himself down in the shade dragging Hermione down with him. They sat there, enjoying each other's company in silence.

"I think my father loved my mother, at least at one point he did," he said, out of the blue.

Hermione turned to face him. _Where __had__ that come from?_

"I know it doesn't seem very likely, but during the time the Dar- that _Voldemort_ was presumed dead… we were actually a pretty happy family." Draco looked out at the lake, Hermione could see his eyes, they had resumed their steel gray color and she decided it was best to just let him talk and not to interrupt him.

"Lucius taught me how to ride a broom. Back then, when I had him, life seemed so carefree. I remember when I fell off my broom when I was eight. He was there, and he actually showed concern, for once he didn't berate me as he usually did. He carried me into the house and healed me himself instead of having one of the house-elves do it. That was the first, and the last time he ever took on the role of a caring father," He took a deep breath and Hermione placed a hand on his knee, showing him that she was listening and that he should continue when he felt like it.

"Then _he _returned. My mother prayed that he wouldn't fall back into his old ways. But they both knew it was useless, when the dark lord came knocking, my father returned to him like he was some slave!" Draco narrowed his eyes, "Father always told me that people were to look up to me. That, as a Malfoy, it was my birthright to treat those below me like scum," he spat. "Yet there he was, blindly following the orders of a half-blood. I'm not going to sit here and say I never believed what he said, that I never believed in blood purity because we both know that'd be a lie. What I do know, is that I regret it," He turned to face Hermione, "Hermione, I know I don't say this very often, but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for all the hurt and the trouble I've caused you and your friends. I wish I could go back and change everything I've ever said or done to you, but I can't. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness for everything that has happened in the past," Draco apologized and was shocked when he saw tears in her eyes.

"Draco," she sniffled, "I forgive you. I know it was hard for you to admit all that right now and I'm just happy that you were able to confide in me. Thank you," she conjured up a handkerchief and wiped her eyes with it. "Oh, look at me! I told myself I wouldn't let you make me cry again and here I am, blubbering away like some fool," she grinned.

"What? I've made you cry before! When?" Draco took on an expression of concern and drew her into his arms, giving her a hug.

"Oh, when you called me a mudblood," upon seeing the stricken look on his face she quickly added, "But I forgave you for that a while ago! It's fine really, it doesn't actually bother me much, it was just a shock is all." Draco nodded his head curtly before looking back out to the lack.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and after a few moments asked, "Draco, if you don't mind me asking, why _did_ you hate me?" She felt his grip on her tighten, and then relax.

"I never hated you, Hermione, that's something I want to make clear," He saw her open her mouth, but quickly continued, "I know it seemed like I did, but I didn't. I disliked you, yes, but never did I ever hate you. The reason I would call you names and pick on you was because I was upset that a muggle-born beat me in every single class. You can imagine my father's displeasure that his pure-blood son was being bested by someone that he considered dirt. In short, I was jealous of you,"

"J-jealous? Of me?" she stuttered in response.

"Yeah, pretty stupid right?" he shook his head.

"That's so cute!" she exclaimed which only made Draco look at her as if she was insane. She thought that was cute? What was wrong with her?

"Cute?" he asked dryly.

"Yes!"

"Really?"

"It is! Don't look at me like that! I'm relieved that you never hated me, but it's just kind of funny that you disliked me because I'm smarter than you!" she laughed.

"Hmph," Draco replied.

"Oh don't get mad you big baby, I'm just being honest." He childishly stuck his tongue out at her and she shook her head. What a baby.

"Draco, have you ever met your aunt?" That question had been burning a hole in her brain and she was happy to have finally asked it.

"Um, yes?" _What a stupid question._

She rolled her eyes at his tone. "Not Bellatrix, I'm talking about Andromeda, and your cousin Tonks,"

"Oh," recognition dawned in his eyes. "No, I haven't. Why?" he asked.

"Well, it's just that other than your mom, you can't have much family left right?"

"True. They are the only family I have left actually," he agreed.

"Well, haven't you ever wanted to meet them?"

"I-uh," he was at a loss for words.

"Tonks is married to Remus Lupin, they have a son named Teddy," she carefully watched his face to see if his expression would change. It didn't.

"Well, that's good for her. It's not that I don't want to meet my family, it's just that I never had, they probably hate my mother and me…" he mumbled.

"Oh, Draco, no they don't! I've been to Andromeda's house a few times to see Tonks, she has photos of your mother and herself above her fireplace. I've seen her staring at them with sadness in her eyes, I'm sure she'd love to see her sister again and meet her nephew," she said gently.

"Perhaps," he conceded. Hermione knew that was all she'd get from him so she gave up. Gave up on talking about the subject that is, her mind was spinning as it came up with a plan.

It was getting dark, but neither was really ready to go inside yet, they were both perfectly content with just sitting there.

"Hermione," Draco asked looking down at her as if he'd just gotten an idea.

"Yeah?" she turned her head to face him.

"What are we?" He questioned, meeting her gaze and tilting his head to the side.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, eyes widening.

"Well… we're friends, right?" He made a pause, clearing his throat. "But… I think I'd like us to be something more than that, one day, you know? If given the opportunity."

If Hermione was surprised, she didn't show it, but she did smile, though remaining silent on the matter.

"Come on! It's getting late and we should really get back inside," she jumped up and helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, sure," responded Draco, looking up at the sky, even though it didn't seem like it, they'd been out there for quite a while.

They made their way back to their dormitory and said goodnight to each other as they stood in front of their separate bedrooms. As Hermione was about to open her door and go in, Draco spoke.

"Hey, Hermione?"

"Yeah?" she turned around.

"I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for listening to me today," he mumbled, rubbing his neck.

"Of course, Draco, anytime." She gave him a small wave before retiring to her room for the night.

* * *

**Hey guys! How are you all? It's Winter Break! Thank Merlin! I haven't even started to study for my exams yet, I'm incredibly lazy :) I know that these recent chapters haven't been too climatic, but it's getting there :) I'd like to tell you how many chapters there are left, but I honestly don't know yet.**

**I would like to thank my reviewers for reviewing, and everyone who is still reading.**

**Jade-loves-Edward : I'm sorry, I really do wish I could update more but I just don't have the time. Thanks for reviewing though!**

**ZhEn-LiSsE : Awe thanks! :D**

**Nicki: Yupp, a Dragon! It just seems to fit his personality so I like him as one :)**

**Minnieismyidol : Luna is quite the character isn't she? ;P**

**Snapesdiary : Well… it's not really much longer, but thank you for liking this :)**

**Siriuslyback : Yeah, I had to think long and hard about it, but in the end it just seemed better if he only ahd oen form, not very realistic in the Wizarding world world if he had two =)**

**edwardsoneandonlylove: Haha that's Draco! Haha for a second, I was worried that they were beign too lovey-dovey! I like Pansy, I really wish that she was like that in the books :(**

**Mya: Me tooooo!**

**roni2010 : Thanks for sticking around! It means a lot!**

**Karate Chic : I see the makings of an abusive relationship… with Hermione being the abuser… Just Kidding! *shifts eyes around***

**TempeBooth1 : Thank you very much! It's great that their getting along :D**

**dramimione : Hello new reader! Haha I'm fine with cute, but amazing works too! ;P I so wish that they were together in actuality! And I agree completely about school! It's a pain in the butt.**

**Please Review! Mega thanks to my beta SoUsay234!**


	18. Apologize to your idiot sister!

**JK owns the wonderful world of Harry Potter**

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"When your break is over I expect that all of you," Snape glared in the direction of the Gryffindors, "will have memorized how to brew Amortentia. Upon your return, you will be expected to make a perfect batch, otherwise you will receive a failing grade. Consider this your term project. You are dismissed." Everyone cheered. It was the last class of the day and their winter break had officially started.

Hermione left the classroom, her hand was itching to grab her textbook so she could begin memorizing the difficult potion recipe, but she knew that Ron and Harry would scold her for it so she decided to leave it alone, for now at least.

"Mione, you coming to the Burrow with us, yeah?" asked Ron.

"Of course, where else would I go?" replied Hermione. Seeing as how her parents were visiting some friends in Canada and she really didn't want to spend her holidays alone at Hogwarts, she decided she'd spend it with her surrogate family. The Weasley's.

"I don't know, thought maybe you and Malfoy were going to cozy it up or something," Ron muttered.

Hermione glared at him, but didn't respond. She and Draco hadn't really talked about each other's plans for the break at all. Hermione figured they'd discuss it eventually, no use talking about it now. That had been last week, they were leaving tomorrow morning so she really needed to find him and talk to him soon.

"When do we have to be back at school by?" asked Harry as they made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"We must be back before 6 o'clock on the 31st. Students must be dressed appropriately and they will enter the Great Hall at approximately 6:10," recited Hermione without taking a breath.

"Draco, mate, I love you, but your girl's a freak," the trio heard a deep voice from behind them say.

Hermione spun around, her cheeks tinged with red at being called Draco's girl.

"Shut up, Blaise," smirked Draco.

"Ah, see! You're not even denying it!"

"Hey, Mugglemuffin," Draco ignored Blaise and addressed the witch in front of him.

"Draco," she greeted.

"So how much of the potion have you already memorized?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh, go away!" huffed Hermione as she walked away, leaving the four boys behind her laughing.

"See you in the Common Room, Mione!" she heard Ron and Harry yell. She heard footsteps behind her and turned her head to see who it was. Draco. Blaise must have left.

"So I've been thinking," Draco started, "My mother would like to meet you. Don't ask me why, I told her we're not dating," _yet_ he muttered under his breath, "but nonetheless, she wanted me to ask if you would be able to get away for Dinner on Christmas Day. That way you could still have lunch and stuff with the Weasley's." Hermione thought about it for a moment, she may have appeared to others as a fearless individual, but the thought of meeting Narcissa Malfoy frightened her.

"I guess I can," she decided.

"Great, I'm actually going home now, so I guess I'll see you then," Hermione stopped in her steps and looked up at Draco.

"Already?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mum wanted to go to Paris for a bit so she asked that I come home as soon as we get out of school," he explained.

"Oh," was her response.

"Yeah, well I'll see you, bye, Hermione," Draco hugged her before sprinting off in the direction of their common room.

"Bye," she yelled down the hall. Honestly, he didn't even wait for her to say something. How rude.

Seeing as how she'd packed all her belongings up the night before, she really had nothing else to do, so she made her way over to her old Common Room where all her friends were. She entered just in time to hear Ron say:

"Well, why not?"

"Because, it's not like we're even dating so why should I tell mum and dad?" yelled Ginny.

Oh, it was one of _those_ fights. Hermione looked around the Common Room and noticed that apart from the few students that were eavesdropping, there was really no one there except for Ginny, Ron, and Harry. Hermione cast a quick _Muffliato_ so no one could hear what was going on before sitting down next to Harry. It was really nothing new to see the two siblings fight and Hermione wasn't really in the mood to intervene.

"You should tell them because he's taking you to the ball! I'm pretty sure mum would want to know about that!" shouted Ron.

"Argh, you're so infuriating! Does mum know about Pansy?"

Ron's face reddened, "Exactly! You're such a hypocrite, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione could see her hand itching towards her wand, and apparently, so did Ron.

"Okay, Gin, calm down, let's not hex anyone here now," Ginny screamed in frustration before storming off upstairs, probably to finish packing.

"You know, Ron, she's right," piped Hermione.

"Oh, don't you start," groaned Ron as he threw himself onto the couch opposite her and Harry.

Ron cowered under the glare that Hermione sent his way and was extremely relieved when Harry suggested a game of Wizards Chess.

After Hermione beat Harry, and Ron beat Hermione, unsurprisingly, they sat down by the fire and relaxed.

"How's Teddy, Harry?" asked Hermione from her spot on the floor.

"He's great! Remus sent me some new pictures of him yesterday, want to see?" Harry's face brightened at the mention of his Godson and he started scrambling around in his pockets before pulling out some pictures. There was one of Teddy zooming around on a little broomstick and one of him sitting in a pile of flour.

"Why is he sitting in flour?" asked a confused Ron.

"Tonks was _trying_ to make cookies," he replied dryly, they all knew of Tonks' cooking ability or lack thereof in other words.

"Harry, I was thinking," Hermione started.

"Oh no," sighed Ron.

"I was thinking that it'd be nice if Andromeda, Tonks, Teddy, and Remus were to meet Narcissa and Draco during the holidays," she said, ignoring Ron.

"What?" Harry looked at her.

"Well, Draco told me about how he's never met his family, and the war is over and all and Narcissa doesn't hate her sister, and I know Andromeda doesn't hate Narcissa either, so I just thought it would be a nice surprise for all of them," she said.

"Well, I think that'd be up to Andromeda, you don't know for sure if she'd want to meet Narcissa after all these years," said Harry carefully.

"I know, it's just, what's Christmas without family? I know! I'll ask Tonks what she thinks! See you guys tomorrow morning!"

And with that, Hermione sprinted off to the Heads Room. As she entered, she took a quick look around, and upon making sure that Draco was gone, she got down on her knees in front of the fireplace and floo-called Tonks.

"Tonks, are you home?" she called. A woman with bright blue hair walked into the living room and promptly tripped over her own feet. Just a typical day in the life of Tonks.

"Hermione! What a surprise!" she came and sat down in front of the fireplace.

"How are you?" asked Hermione politely.

"I'm great," they heard a loud bang, followed by a cry from upstairs.

"Teddy's been a nightmare ever since he got that broom. I'll let Remus deal with this one, it's his fault anyway," said Tonks, rolling her eyes. "Now, what do you need?"

"Well, I was just wondering, how would you like to meet your aunt and cousin?" she asked hesitantly.

"The Malfoy's?" questioned Tonks.

"The very same."

"Um, why?"

"Well, Draco and I have gotten closer this year and I thought it would be great if your mom and Narcissa started to talk again, family is important and I think that it would be a good thing,"

"Well, I don't know, Hermione, I'm not sure if my mom would agree to that, we've never actually discussed Narcissa. Wait, did you even ask the Malfoy's about this?" she narrowed her eyes and Hermione had the good grace to blush and look away.

"Well no, but I think it would be a nice surprise! I'm supposed to meet Narcissa during the break and I think it would be a lovely present if her sister showed up," she said.

"And why are you telling me all of this?" Tonks was starting to catch on.

"I was kind of hoping that you'd help me out by luring your mom, Teddy, and Remus to the restaurant. You can tell Remus of course!" Tonks thought about it for a moment.

"Alright, Hermione, I'll make you a deal," Hermione started to grin, "include Draco in this plan of yours and I'll agree."

"Fine," Hermione sighed. "I'll let him know about it, promise."

"Good," they heard another bang from upstairs.

"Well, I hate to say goodbye, but I should really go and check on Teddy and Remus. Merlin knows Remus can't do anything without me around," Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Hermione laughed, "I'll send you an owl!" Hermione got up from her knees and smiled. She had a feeling that this was going to be a very good Christmas.

* * *

The next morning the students of Hogwarts were awake bright and early so that they could catch the train back to King's Cross at 9. The trio would be apparating back to the burrow since they were all licensed while Hermione took Ginny by side-along apparation.

"Oh, Ginny, dear!" Hermione heard as soon as they arrived at the Burrow. Molly Weasley hadn't seen her children in months and she was very happy that they were home for the holidays.

"Mum," came the muffled voice of Ginny, "Can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry, dear," Molly turned to Hermione and gave her a quick hug and hello before moving on to the boys. Hermione wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that the older woman didn't like her very much at the moment since she knew that Hermione would be going off to see the Malfoy's Christmas day. But it was just a feeling; she wasn't positive that she felt that way.

"Oh, it's wonderful to have you all back! Now, head up to your rooms and get some rest dears," Molly Weasley beamed at the four teenagers before making her way back to the kitchen where she was preparing dinner.

Hermione and Ginny parted ways with Ron and Harry at the stairs and they made their way up to their bedroom that they would be sharing.

"I can't wait until Fred and George get here!" laughed Ginny.

"Ugh, I can," muttered Hermione. She loved the twins, she really did, but they were just so childish sometimes! "Will Percy, Bill, and Charlie be coming this year?" she asked Ginny.

"Not sure about Percy." Ginny had a disgusted look on her face. Though he had apologized to the family, the twins and Ginny hadn't forgiven him yet. "But Charlie will be here and so will Bill, Fleur, and Victoire. It's going to be a full house!" cried Ginny dramatically.

The two girls unpacked their trunks quickly and then headed outside to enjoy the snow. They were soon joined by Harry and Ron and they had an all out snowball fight. The girls were winning when all of a sudden, four large snowballs the size of tire wheels came flying at them and knocked all of them over.

"Aaah!" screamed Ginny.

"Oh dear-"

"I do believe-"

"That maybe we-"

"Should have not-"

"Hit our dear amazing-"

"Sister with that-"

"FRED! GEORGE! COME BACK HERE!" yelled Ginny and she took off after the twin's leaving the trio behind to pick themselves up off the ground.

"Ow, my head," groaned Hermione.

"I'm going to get them back," threatened Ron.

"I think Ginny's got it under control," laughed Harry as they heard the muffled yells of the twins.

They all burst into laughter as they saw a very smug looking Ginny come back from inside.

"I don't even want to know what you did to them," said Ron to his sister.

"Good, it's best if no one does," she smirked.

"You're as bad as the twins, Gin," Hermione shook her head as they walked back to the house.

"Hey! I resent that!"

Hermione laughed and told her friends she had to go write a quick letter before dashing off.

_Draco,_

_I have a proposition for you. I will come out to dinner with your mother and yourself __**if **__you consent to my plan. I want Andromeda and your mother to meet. Tonks has told me she will only agree to this plan if I ask you first so unfortunately I have to include you in the plan. What do you say? I will have dinner with you on the 25th, and the day after I want for us all to meet up for lunch. We will go to Le Tournesol and then as we sit and get ready to order, Tonks will conveniently stroll in with Andromeda, Teddy and Remus. We will make Andromeda sit at the table with your mother while the rest of us dash off to find a new table. This way, you meet your cousin and your first cousin once removed. Please say yes!_

_Hermione_

She debated for a while if she should send an owl or not but then remembered how Draco said he had a fireplace in his bedroom. It would take too long if she sent an owl so she went over to the Weasley's fireplace and threw in the note with some floo powder after saying_ Draco Malfoy's bedroom. _She sat there and waited for a few minutes when suddenly the fireplace lit up and out came a piece of paper.

Hermione grinned at the word on the paper, _Fine_. Glad that her plan was being put in motion, she wrote a short note to Tonks and sent it off with Hedwig. And with that done, she left the bedroom and headed off in the direction of all the laugher where she just knew that the twins were entertaining the house before dinner.

* * *

**Hello! How are all of you today? I am sadly informing you that this will be the only new chapter for the month of January. Unfortunately, it's exam time and my first one is next week! I need to spend the month studying, revising and doing my exams which leaves no time for fanfiction. But I decided to put this out here for you guys so you'd have something at least!**

**As always, please leave me a review, those are always nice :) Is there anything in particular that you would like to see?**

**Thanks as always to:**

**edwardsoneandonlylove : I know! Unfortunately, I don't see mine very often so I know how much it must suck for Draco. :( **

**Jade-loves-Edward : I wish I could hug him!**

**iceskaterluvr : awee, thanks!**

**LissaDragonmir : Haha, that made me smile, thanks alot!**

**roni2010 : Do you mean like a new story? Or just in this one?**

**KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun : Agreed! Teddy's going to meet his relatives!**

**Karate Chic : I hope this one wasn't too fluffy! :)**

**IMPORTANT QUESTION:**

**What is your favorite quote from AVPS/AVPM? I'm running out of chapter names! My mind is drawing a blank :(**


	19. The coolest girl in the whole wide world

**Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Hermione was rudely awoken that morning by a flash of red that attacked her. Since it was Christmas, she decided not to hex Ginny for waking her up at the ungodly hour of six am.

"I'm up, I'm up!" she pushed Ginny off her bed, causing the redhead to glare up at her friend.

"You didn't have to push me," she huffed.

"Then don't wake me up," Smirked Hermione, "go wake up Ron and Harry." Ginny's eyes lit up at the suggestion and she bounded out of the room, intent on giving her brother a rude wake-up call.

Hermione went to the bathroom so that she could brush her teeth. They were having Christmas lunch that day, followed by her dinner with the Malfoy's. To say that she was nervous would be an understatement. She was scared to death! What if Narcissa Malfoy didn't like her? What if she made a fool of herself? These were some of the many what if scenarios going around in her head.

"Hermione! Hurry up!" she was brought out of her thoughts by a fist pounding loudly on the door. "We need to go open our presents!" Ginny banged on the door once more before disappearing down the stairs. Hermione spit out her toothpaste before leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs. She saw the entire family crowded around the tree in the middle of the family room and made her way over and sat herself down in between Harry and Ron who looked like they were about to fall over any second.

"Ron, why is your hair wet?" she asked, noticing that his hair seemed damp.

"Grmph," he muttered, glaring in the direction of his sister who smiled innocently back before turning to the presents.

"Alright, everyone grab your presents!" Said the matriarch of the Weasley family. There was a mad scramble as everyone rushed to the tree, suddenly wide-awake at the thought of presents. They all grabbed their stashes and found an open spot in the living room where they could open their gifts.

"Whoa, thanks for the keepers glove, Harry!"

"Sweet, chocolate!"

These were some of the things being shouted around the room as everyone's pile slowing starting getting smaller. Finally, Hermione had only one present left. It was fairly heavy and it was wrapped in silver with a gold bow; she knew it could be from only one person. She opened it and everyone's eyes turned to her as she gasped loudly.

"What is it?" Several people inquired. There was a rush of feet and suddenly, Hermione was surrounded by all the occupants of the room.

"Wow-"

"Only-"

"Hermione-"

"Granger-"

"Would-"

"Get-"

"Excited-"

"Over-"

"That," chorused the twins together. Ron shook his head at her as her eyes started filling with tears.

"Wait, I can't see! What is it?" the book was taken from her hands by Ginny who looked at it and snorted.

"Honestly? You're crying because you got a book?"

"It's not just any book!" Hermione sniffled, grabbing her book back and hugging it to her chest. "It's Hogwarts a History, First Edition! It's an original copy!" She opened her book, breathing in the scent associated with new books. Then her eyes noticed something on the first page. "Oh my! It's signed by Bathilda Bagshot!" she cried happily.

"Well, at least we know who gave her that present now," said Ron.

"Malfoy," finished Harry. But Hermione wasn't listening. This was quite possible the best Christmas ever! She was almost looking forward to dinner that night now. Almost. As she sat there, flipping through the pages of her book, she didn't notice everyone leave the room until she was the last one left. Knowing that Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were in the Kitchen cooking lunch, where she wouldn't be allowed to help courtesy of her abominable cooking skills, and the boys were all outside playing Quidditch, which she also couldn't do, she snuck up to her room and got dressed for lunch. Though the Weasley's weren't the type of people to care what you wore to the table, it was still frowned upon to wear your pajamas all day, especially on Christmas.

She sat there reading her book until four hours later when the door opened with a bang.

"I have been calling you for ages!" said an exasperated Ginny.

"Oh, sorry, I was reading," apologized Hermione, lifting her book in response.

"Never mind that now, come on, Bill and Fleur are here with Victoire, and Charlie and Percy just arrived, and get this, Percy brought a girl!" A girl? That was almost a foreign aspect when you thought of Percy. She carefully placed her book into her trunk and followed Ginny down the stairs quickly.

There sitting next to Percy was a dark haired woman who seemed quite nervous to be in a room full of Weasley's.

"Hermione!" bellowed a voice, and she was engulfed in a hug by the second-eldest Weasley son.

"Hey, Charlie," Hermione gasped, "could you maybe lighten up? I can't breathe!"

"Oh sorry." She was immediately released.

"No problem," grinned Hermione as she went around the room greeting the other new arrivals. She played with Victoire before they were called into the kitchen where a vast feast awaited them

"Sheesh, mom, expecting the Minister for lunch or something?" said Ron, eyeing up all the food.

"No, I expect Kingsley is busy today," Molly happily replied, not noticing that her son was joking around.

Everyone sat down at the table and started to eat. There was never a shortage of food in the Weasley house and everyone was satisfyingly full by the end of the meal. Everyone save for, Molly and Arthur, then retreated back to the living room where they could chat and catch up.

"So, Hermione, what's this I hear about you having dinner with the Malfoy's tonight?" asked Charlie, suddenly everyone was facing her. Hermione's face turned red.

"Uh, I, how do you know?" she asked.

"Ron told me," was his reply. Hermione turned to glare at Ron, who shrunk under her gaze.

"Well, yes, I am having dinner with Draco and his mother tonight," she sat up.

"And why exactly are you having dinner with them?" Fred glared.

"Because he and I are friends and his mother wants to meet me," she said, looking out the window.

"Wait, friends? Since when? How?" demanded Bill calmly, he didn't seem angry at all.

"Well, we're both Heads, eventually we reached an understanding and are now on amicable terms," she stated.

"Amicable, yeah, that's why he's taking you to the ball," snorted Ginny.

"Oh, hush! I'm not discussing this anymore," she turned to face Audrey as she noticed the four oldest brothers open their mouths in disbelief after Ginny's declaration.

"Hello Audrey, how are you?" The woman sitting next to Percy jumped in her seat as she was addressed.

"Hello, I'm fine, and you?" she replied quietly, shocked that someone was talking to her. And just like that, everyone in the room turned to face the new girl and bombard her with questions. This was the scene that Molly and Arthur walked in on and Molly immediately chastised her children.

"Weasley's! You leave that poor girl alone!" she ordered. Not wanting to get on her bad side, her children immediately shut up. Now, everyone was still pretty surprised that Percy had managed to get himself a girlfriend, and he nearly gave his mother a heart attack when he stood up and cleared his throat.

"May I have your attention please?" he asked, while pulling Audrey to her feet so she could stand next to him.

"Now, I know that you are all surprised to see Audrey here, but I would like you all to know that we have been dating for two years now," he paused for dramatic effect and waved his wand. Almost immediately, a ring appeared on Audrey's left hand that had been previously been disillusioned.

"We got engaged last night," he stated proudly. There was silence around the room for about a minute, everyone was completely shocked. The silence was finally broken by Mrs. Weasley who jumped to her feet and hugged her son, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Percy! I always thought, oh I was so silly! I always thought you weren't interested in girls! My baby's getting married!" she blubbered. Percy turned red at her declaration and everyone, including his fiancée laughed at him. Excited at the thought of a new sister-in-law, the Weasley's immediately started to make Audrey feel like she was at home, like she was already part of the family. Fleur was also very glad that she would no longer be the outsider.

"Oh my God!" shrieked Ginny, four hours later, staring at her watch. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Hermione before she started pulling her towards the stairs.

"Ginny, what are you doing!" demanded Hermione as everyone watched the pair in amusement.

"In case you've forgotten miss-know-it-all, you are expected for dinner with the Malfoy's in one hour!" Hermione's face lost all the color it had, she had completely forgotten! The two girls rushed up the stairs and burst into the room.

"Alright, what are you wearing?" demanded Ginny, putting her hands on her hips like her mother often did. She looked at Hermione over her shoulder and grimaced.

"Oh my God, Ginny I can't do this!" Hermione was hyperventilating, pacing around quickly. "What was I thinking? She's going to hate me! I'm muggle-born! She's going to throw me out of the house, oh Merlin, I'm crazy! I can't do this!" she ranted.

_SMACK_

"Hermione Granger, get your act together! You can do this and she won't hate you!" Hermione held her hand to her cheek.

"That hurt!" she yelled.

"Good, now that I have your attention, what are you wearing?"

"I have absolutely no idea!" Hermione's face went blank. Ginny shook her head and went over to Hermione's trunk where she started pulling out the contents of the trunk.

"Ginny, don't make a mess!" Hermione protested, watching her precious books fall to the floor, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Did you not bring anything fancy? Everything here is suitable for pajamas!" Ginny looked frantic as she looked through the last of the clothes and glared at Hermione.

"I'm sorry! I forgot! Oh no, what do I do Gin?" Hermione looked devastated as she sat down on the bed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," muttered Ginny. She grabbed some parchment and scribbled something down quickly, "Stay here," she ordered Hermione as she left the room and rushed down the stairs. Hermione sat there for five minutes bouncing up and down in her seat; she had forty-five minutes left before she was expected at Draco's. Finally she heard a whoosh from downstairs, some muffled voices and then footsteps scrambling up the stairs. The door opened with a flourish.

"Never fret! I am here!" cried Pansy dramatically. Hermione was very shocked to see Pansy Parkinson in Ginny's room.

"Pansy? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Do you know what to wear tonight?" demanded Pansy haughtily.

"No," muttered Hermione.

"Have you ever met Narcissa before?" she again asked.

"No," Hermione repeated.

"Exactly, now sit down while I find an outfit for you." She then proceeded to wave her wand making all the items on the bed and the floor zoom back into Hermione's trunk. She reached into her pocket and with another flourish of her wand, sent the contents to the bed and removed the _reducio_ spell she had placed upon them.

"Wow," Hermione and Ginny said in unison, staring at the assortment of clothes that Pansy had brought with her. Pansy immediately set to work.

"I brought a bunch of clothes so that we'd have something to work with," Pansy explained as she saw the looks on the other girls faces. "Narcissa is not that big of a fan of bright pastel colors, which is why you should stick with something neutral. No green or silver either, she'll consider that as you trying to suck up to her," Pansy vanished more than half of the clothes on the bed. "She's not that big on jeans and normal pants for formal and semi-formal events. She prefers dresses," One-third of the clothes were vanished. "She likes girls to look like girls, but not prostitutes, she likes girls to be refined and elegant in their attire," "Aha!" She grinned triumphantly and pointed her wand at Hermione, making the clothes appear on her.

"Wow," agreed Ginny. Hermione made to move towards the mirror but Pansy blocked her path.

"Sit, we need to do your hair and makeup," she commanded.

Hermione, deciding that since she didn't have enough time to argue, obediently sat down on a chair and let Pansy do what she wanted. Pansy brought out her copy of Witch Weekly and flipped through the pages, finally landing on the ones that had makeup looks that you could spell onto your person. She then proceeded to do Hermione's hair, and finally, with five minutes left, she pushed Hermione to the mirror.

"Voila!" cried Pansy.

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a very nice empire-waist beige dress that fell to just past mid-thigh. With it she had on some black tights and heels that matched her dress. Her hair was left loose in soft waves. Her make-up was also very natural looking, just some light brown eye-shadow and eyeliner with a hint of blush. Hermione thought she looked very sophisticated. But she didn't have time to look at her appearance any longer. She had to be at the restaurant in two minutes.

"Thank you so much Pansy!" Hermione grinned and the three girls hurried down the stairs. They burst out of the door and marched quickly to the apparation point, which was a bit difficult since Hermione had to walk through the snow in her heels.

She walked past all of the boys telling her how great she looked and only replied with a quick "Thanks!"

"Wish me luck, you guys!" she yelled before turning on the spot. The last thing she saw was Ron looking at Pansy in bewilderment.

She landed softly in front of _Magico_, one the high-end wizarding restaurants in London. She was right on time, she noted with a smile before she made her way into the restaurant and looked around. She frowned as she saw that Draco was nowhere in sight. Then, the man at the front desk asked her if he could help her with something

"Um, yes, I was wondering if there is someone by the name of Malfoy here?"

"Let me see," the man consulted his book and smiled, "Yes, they have arrived and are sitting in the back, I presume you are the third party that they are waiting for? Miss Hermione Granger?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded.

"Right this way then, ma'am." The man led her towards the very back of the restaurant, which was a bit secluded from the rest, but not by much.

"And the table is right next to the garden, enjoy your visit," the man left Hermione standing there as he went back to his place at the front of the restaurant. Hermione saw a glimpse of blonde hair and she gulped. This was it; she was going to do it, she was going to walk over there and she'd be damned if she let herself make a fool of herself.

"Why are you just standing here?" said an amused voice from her left. She whipped around quickly and smacked right into Draco.

"Draco! Oh, I was just coming over," she explained, pointing at the table where she saw the blonde.

"Well, that's nice, but seeing as how the table is this way," he turned her around, "then I think you might have had some trouble,"

"Oh, sorry, I saw blonde," she reddened.

Draco chuckled, "We're not the only blondes in the world you know,"

"Oh right, silly me, now that I think about it, the blonde I saw wasn't so blonde it looks white," said Hermione innocently. Draco glared at her and steered her in the direction of his table.

"Mother, I would like you to meet Hermione Granger, Hermione, this is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy," Draco pushed her in front of him gently. Narcissa rose from her seat and Hermione curtsied politely like Pansy had told her to.

"Mrs. Malfoy, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Hermione greeted.

"Dear, please, call me Narcissa, Mrs. Malfoy makes me feel so old," She smiled at Hermione's obvious nervousness. "Sit down, please."

Hermione and Draco sat down at the table, across from Narcissa. The waiter appeared out of nowhere and handed them their menus. Hermione observed the list, she didn't know what half of the things were but since this was an Italian restaurant, she knew she wouldn't care much what she ordered, she loved Italian food.

"I'll have the usual Roberto," said Narcissa Malfoy.

"Same," nodded Draco. Everyone stared at Hermione expectantly; she lowered her eyes once more and said, "I'll have the Alfredo tortellini with Mushrooms please," she handed back her menu and the waiter scurried away to get their orders.

"Draco's told me so much about you," smiled Narcissa. "Now, I understand that you are Head Girl?" she inquired. Hermione opened her mouth to answer but smiled politely as the waiter returned with their meals. It hadn't even been a minute. _You gotta love magic, _she thought. She returned her gaze to Draco's mother.

"Yes, I am," she answered.

"Hm, and do you enjoy this position?" Hermione looked out of the corner of her eye and noticed Draco take a bite out of his Chicken Alfredo, staying out of the conversation that his mother and Hermione were having.

"Yes, I do. I enjoy helping others when they need it and being Head Girl really let's me do that," Narcissa took a bite out of her food, that's when Hermione decided that she might as well start eating as well.

"What do you want to do when you graduate?" asked Narcissa after a few moments.

"Well, my parents want me to go to a muggle University, but I see absolutely no point in that since I wish to become a Healer," said Hermione, taking a sip of her water.

"Muggle University? Well, I see no point in that if your desire is to become a healer. I am curious though, so you still practice the muggle ways?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione hesitantly.

"I mean do you do things that muggles do still? Or do you stick to the wizarding world?" Narcissa clarified.

"I consider the Wizarding world to be my world. The only thing I do related to the Muggle world is talk to my parents," Hermione narrowed her eyes. Narcissa noticed this.

"Oh, dear, I don't mean offense! I'm honestly curious. It must be hard I assume, you've spent so much time in both worlds."

Hermione saw that Narcissa was sincere. "It's alright Mrs… Narcissa," she said awkwardly. Narcissa simply laughed, a laugh that was like the tinkling of bells.

"So, Draco, what do you want to do when you graduate?" asked Hermione, determined to bring the silent teenager next to her into this conversation. Draco sighed before turning his attention to the two ladies next to him.

"I want to be an Unspeakable," he muttered.

"Really?" Hermione's eyes widened, this was news to her.

"Yeah, the whole mystery thing intrigues me," he shrugged.

"Wow, I never expected that," Hermione said, before returning to her food.

"Oh, I remember when Draco was younger, he would take his father's robes which were much to big for him and these horrid giant glasses and he would walk around the Manor with a notepad. Whenever anyone asked him what he was doing, he claimed he was solving mysteries," Hermione and Narcissa laughed as Draco's face flushed. "My favorite was when he told me he was trying to solve the mystery of his disappearing sheets. What he didn't know was that I would throw them away usually because he had a habit of wetting himself at night."

"Mother!" Protested Draco, embarrassed.

"It's alright Draco, I think it's cute," giggled Hermione.

The rest of the evening was rather peaceful now that the initial awkwardness had died away. Narcissa continued questioning Hermione about her life and her goals, she seemed rather interested in her parents and was shocked to hear that they weren't spending Christmas with her. Finally, at seven-thirty, they decided that their dinner over.

"It was very nice to finally meet you, Hermione," said Narcissa, getting to her feet.

"And it was wonderful to meet you, Narcissa," smiled Hermione. The two women hugged briefly before Draco interrupted them.

"Mother, I'm going to walk, Hermione out, I'll be right back alright?"

"Of course dear, goodbye, Hermione," Narcissa walked over to the section of the restaurant where her coat was hung up.

Draco walked Hermione out and they stood in front of the restaurant, just watching all the people around them.

"Did I tell you how great you look tonight?" Draco broke the silence.

"No, but thank you," grinned Hermione. "Pansy helped me."

"Figures, I knew I'd seen that dress before," he snorted. "So, tell me, honestly, was tonight as bad as you thought it was going to be?"

Hermione laughed "No, I actually really enjoyed it, your mother was very… motherish,"

"Smartest witch of the year can't think of any better words? She has to make one up?" Draco smirked and Hermione punched him lightly.

"Oh, shut up," she said.

"Anyways, did you tell your mom about tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yes, what time should we be there?" he replied. He looked nervous.

"Don't be so nervous! Tomorrow is going to be fun! It'll be a family reunion!" She laughed. "And be there at one."

"Alright." He sighed.

"Oh! Draco!" Hermione leapt at him and enveloped him in a hug before letting go and stepping back. "I almost forgot! Thank you so much for the present! I love it!"

"I thought you might," He smirked. "And thank you very much for the necklace," He pulled a chain out from underneath his sweater, "it's amazing." The necklace in question was a silver chain that had a small snitch hanging off of it. When you touched it, it would spur to life before dying back down.

"I'm glad you liked it, it was really hard to find you a present!" Hermione complained.

"Well, I love it, so thank you. And now, I will see you tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow," Hermione agreed. She gave him a quick hug and apparated back to the Burrow.

Draco walked back inside to his mother. They walked silently to the fireplaces so that they could floo home.

"I like her, Draco," Narcissa informed her son before she walked into the fireplace and vanished. Draco grinned at her words and followed her. He had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a good day.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the long delay! This has been typed for a while now but I had to wait for my beta to send it back. On a better note, I did pretty good on my exams! :)**

**As always, thanks to my beta SoUsay234 and all you amazing readers and reviewers, you guys rock :)**

**Now, I'm upset, I had just finished responding to all your reviews and I clicked save,and my internet decided to crash on me! Since I really want to get this chapter out, I'm not going to rewrite all my comments :( But I will respond to some questions you guys left!**

**roni2010 : Possibly, but I wouldn't post it until it was completely finished because I don't want to make you guys wait like you did for this.**

**LissaDragonmir: I have a scene where they will kiss planned out, but it isn't yet :(**

**TempeBooth1: It's part of the plot and will be showing up later on, not too long from now though :)**

**tie-dye-raven: There will be a kissing scene, don't worry :)**

**Kate Jaymez: I know things are pretty happy at the moment, but don't worry, it won't always be that way ;)**

**edwardsoneandonlylove: Yeah, they don't live in the same city as me :( And that's great!**

**Anonymous#1: I agree, I need to incorporate some of that into for the other suggestion, it doesn't really fit into my plot so I don't know.**

**Anonymous#2: That's a bit rude. I'm sorry I don't spend 24/7 on here. However I do have a life and I am rather occupied with school. I love to write and I update whenever I can, but telling a writer to hurry up and update and not at least be nice about it is a bit rude. But maybe that's just me.**

**And thank you to the following:**

**Minnieismyidol, Siriuslyback, Snapesdiary, ZhEn-LiSsE, KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun, Karate Chic, Tishica, 31EliZAbeTH919, Fiori Omega **


	20. Totally Awesome!

**This is pretty much a continuation of the last chapter. JK Owns HP**

* * *

Meanwhile at the Weasleys

"Do you think she'll do alright?" asked a worried Ginny as she stared at the spot that Hermione had just disappeared from.

"Oh don't frown so much, you'll get wrinkles," Pansy informed Ginny, "And yes, she'll do great. Narcissa is a very kind woman - nothing like her husband."

"Well, if you say so," relented Ginny.

"Pans! What are you doing here?" demanded a voice from beside the two girls.

"Ronald!" squealed Pansy like a child, throwing herself at her boyfriend. He only had a second to open his arms to catch her; luckily he only stumbled a little and didn't fall to the ground like a fool in front of his family and girlfriend.

"Oomph, Pansy," he grumbled through a mouthful of her shiny black locks.

"What?" she asked innocently, shifting so that she could plant a kiss on his lips before letting go of him. She craned her neck so that she could look up at him; it was really unfair that he was so tall.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, rolling his eyes at her, he was secretly very happy to see her.

"Well, I was sitting at home with my house-elf who was about to make me supper, when all of a sudden my fireplace lit up and a note came out of it. Ginny demanded my immediate assistance in dressing Hermione for dinner and so I, being the great friend that I am, rushed over here as soon as possible so that I could lend a helping hand." She smiled.

"Wait, you were about to eat by yourself? Why?" Asked Ron. Pansy and Ginny rolled their eyes, obviously the only thing that Ron would retain from that was the part about food.

"Well, my parents are on vacation and I was hungry. It's nothing new. Aside from Narcissa, most of the parents in our circle go on holiday during Christmas," she said as if it was self-explanatory.

"What!" exclaimed Ron. "You can't spend Christmas by yourself! You have to stay here with us." He stated, leaving no room for argument, of course that didn't stop Pansy from trying.

"But, Ron, I don't want to impose on your family, its fine really," she shrugged.

"Pansy, you are not spending Christmas alone. Besides, you aren't the only guest we have; we've got loads of space for you! I won't take no for an answer."

"You might as well stay, Pansy, you can experience a Weasley Christmas!" interjected Ginny, seeing that Pansy was about to protest again.

"Fine," she sighed.

"This is great!" exclaimed Ginny, "Mum's been bugging Ron about his new girlfriend, she'll be excited to meet you!" she laughed.

Both Ron and Pansy turned a little red at that. Then Ron grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"That's fine, but I'm sure mum would love to meet Blaise." Ginny blanched at this.

"Uh, no, I don't think she would, that's fine really," she spoke quickly.

"Really? I think she would," he argued.

"Why? It's not like we're dating or anything," she defended.

"So? I'm sure Dad and all your brothers would just _love_ to see the lad taking their sweet innocent little daughter and sister to the ball," he grinned.

"Shut up, Ron! No they wouldn't!" she yelled.

"They would!" he yelled back. Pansy smartly backed up, not wanting to be dragged into the sibling argument.

"No!"

"Pansy, is Blaise alone on Christmas as well?" he asked his girlfriend without removing his glare from Ginny.

"Um yes," she squeaked. Ron saw Ginny's eyes shine with compassion, he knew he almost had her.

"Look at that, do you really want the poor boy to spend this evening all by himself? Shame on you,Gin!"

"He wouldn't want to come here, Ron! Butt out!" Whatever Ron was going to respond with was cut off by the voice of his mother.

"What on earth is all this screeching?" she demanded, swinging her gaze from between her two children. Arthur Weasley stood just behind her with a curious look on his face. "And who wouldn't want to come here?"

"Ginny's boyfriend!" blurted Ron. That certainly drew the attention of the rest of their family. Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and even Percy and Audrey came to stand around the family. Harry went to stand next to Pansy, neither wanting anything to do with this.

"What!"

"Boyfriend?"

"Our sister has a boyfriend?"

"Who is he!"

"I'll kill him!"

Those were just some of the kinder things that the Weasley brothers yelled out.

"He isn't my boyfriend!" protested Ginny, shaking her head wildly at her family.

"Everyone, quiet!" demanded Arthur. Everyone immediately shut their mouths; it wasn't often that Arthur Weasley raised his voice.

"Now, who is Ron talking about, Gin-bug?" asked Arthur, looking to his only daughter.

"My date to the ball," she muttered, looking away from everyone.

"And who is he?" he quickly said once he saw his sons open their mouths again.

"Blaise Zabini." She said after a moment's pause. There was a brief pause and then Ginny's brothers erupted.

"Our sweet innocent little sister-"

"With a mean nasty Slytherin!"

"WHAT! A Slytherin?"

"Oh, heck no!"

"This cannot be happening,"

"OY! Ron's dating a Slytherin, why's nobody bothering him about it?" she demanded furiously, gesturing towards Pansy with one hand on her hip in a fashion very reminiscent of their mother. Speaking of their mother…

"Oh, my dear! Hello! You must be Pansy? Ron talks about you constantly!" She rushed towards the poor frightening girl and wrapped her in a hug. "Are you staying for dinner? I do hope you are!"

"Y-yes." Pansy stuttered.

"Marvelous! Do you know how to cook?" asked Molly, letting go of Pansy so that she could peer at her face.

"Yes, ma'am," Pansy gulped, getting some of her nerves back.

"That's wonderful! You simply must join me in the kitchen with Ginny!"

"I'd be delighted, ma'am." Arthur merely rolled his eyes at his wife's antics before returning to the matter at hand.

"Why don't you want to invite him over to dinner, Ginny?" He asked calmly. "Ron says he's alone tonight, you know that's no way to spend Christmas."

"I- I just don't want them," she pointed at her six brothers, "to scare him off like they did every other guy that's had the misfortune of meeting my brothers!" Fred and George had the grace to look away when Ginny said that, everyone knew that they were the worst, pulling pranks on every boy who had dared to even look at Ginny.

"They'll be on their best behavior, won't you, boys?" Arthur stared hard at his sons. They gulped and all nodded their consent.

"See? Nothing to fear, Ginny, now run along and invite Plaise over to dinner," he gave her a small push towards the house.

"His name is, Blaise, dad!" reminded Ginny.

"Yes, yes, dear, run along!" Ginny rolled her eyes and glared at Ron before going into the house.

"Harry!" boomed Mrs. Weasley, Harry cowered under the force of her voice, she was standing right next to him after all.

"What is darling Luna doing today?"

"Oh, um, I don't really know, Mrs. Weasley," Harry shrugged.

Molly shook her head, "Well, she lives just over the hill, run along and ask her what her plans are! If she can, ask her to come to dinner!"

"I-uh, ok." Harry walked over to the shed, grabbed his broom and took off.

"Now, the rest of you!" Molly stared at the remainder of her children. "Go make yourselves useful!" Then she walked off into the house.

"Merlin, I'm a grown man with a child of my own and yet she still makes me feel like _I'm_ the child," grumbled Bill, walking off to find his own little family. Everyone dispersed until only Ron and Pansy were left.

"Well, welcome to a typical day at the Burrow," Ron gestured around before taking her hand and leading her down to the little lake.

_Pansy's here for dinner and Ron opened his big fat mouth about you taking me to the ball. Now my family wants to meet you, sorry. Can you come? –Ginny _

Ginny looked over the note making sure it wasn't too personal. She liked Blaise, a lot. But she wasn't sure if he was the type of guy who was into bold declarations and public displays of affection. That's why whenever she was near him or spoke to him she tried to seem a bit detached. She didn't want him to think she was just some younger schoolgirl that he could use and discard. She knew he was a good guy, but he was also a bit of a player and she was not prepared to lose her heart just yet.

Deeming the note good enough, she threw it into her fireplace and grabbed a copy of Witch Weekly that she could read as she awaited his response. She was reading the article titled _How to convince your over-protective family that dating is OK_ and she was really engrossed in it which is why she didn't notice the whirring of the fireplace until there was a rather heavy weight settled on her. It was when the weight muttered oomph that Ginny screamed. She could hear the thundering of footsteps rushing towards her.

"Ginny! Calm down! It's me!" panicked Blaise. Ginny promptly shut up, but it was too late, the damage was done.

"GET OFF MY SISTER!" five voices simultaneously shouted. Blaise quickly jumped off of Ginny and stood up. Ginny, knowing where this was going, jumped to her feet and quickly placed herself in front of Blaise, protecting him from her brothers.

"Guys! Calm down!" she hollered.

"Calm down?" Fred looked at his twin.

"She expects us to calm down?" George crossed his arms.

"There was a bloke on top of you!" Charlie glared.

"This is inexcusable!" said the annoying voice of pompous Percy.

"Dirty underhanded Slytherin!" muttered Bill

Ginny's brothers drew their wands and pointed them behind Ginny's head, aiming for Blaise.

"Stop it right now! He wasn't doing anything! I was sitting in front of the fireplace and he fell on me and I got startled, that's why I screamed," Ginny explained. "Now put away your wands right now unless you want me to get mine out!" She glared at each of her brothers.

"Ginny, you are not seventeen, you cannot use magic yet, you are under-age," said the ever practical voice of Percy Ignatius Weasley.

"The ministry wouldn't know who did the magic, Percy," Ginny reached into her pocket and drew her wand.

"Ginny, as a ministry official I cannot allow you to perform magic under my very nose," he continued.

"Fine," huffed Ginny, she turned her head up to Blaise and whispered in his ear. He looked at her and nodded.

"Goodbye dear brothers of mine," Ginny spun on her foot and walked towards the door that led outside.

"_Protego!" _she heard Blaise yell before he sprinted out to meet her.

"You got to hand it to her, she's smart," she heard Charlie state amongst all the hollering as the door swung closed behind her.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, Red," said Blaise appreciatively as he stared down at her. "You've got five grown men, all scared of you."

Ginny smiled sweetly up at him. "Do as I say and I won't need to use my wand on you," she threatened jokingly, "Come on, let's go down to the lake; Pansy and Ron are down there."

They walked in silence down to the lake, hearing no sounds except for the crunch of their shoes in the snow; Ginny didn't know what to say to him, she was still nervous when she was around him. Finally Blaise had had enough. He grabbed her by the hand and she halted to a stop. She turned to look questioningly at Blaise and was met by the cool indigo of his eyes.

"We need to talk," he stated.

"Oh, about what?" mumbled Ginny, staring at his hand which was still holding hers tightly.

"Us."

"Us?" echoed Ginny, looking back at his face.

"Why is it that you are so upfront with everyone else and when you're with me, you close yourself off? Did I do something? Was it wrong of me to presume that you liked me? Do you wish I'd never asked you to the ball?" he asked this all very slowly, holding her gaze with his own.

"What? No! You haven't done anything!" proclaimed Ginny.

"Then what the hell is the problem?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, I-I just don't know how to act when I'm around you." Ginny bowed her head.

"What do you mean?" he questioned, taking her chin in his hand and lifting it so that he could see her eyes.

"It's just, you're you, and I'm me… and I like you, a lot. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of you," she mumbled.

"Ginevra," Ginny frowned at her name, "I like you, a lot. More than I've ever liked any other girl. I don't care how you act around me; I just don't want you to be so detached from me. I like your bubbly personality, I just want you to be you," he said.

"I'm sorry; I've been a pretty big idiot haven't I?" Ginny blubbered.

"Yeah, a bit," smirked Blaise, he wiped her tears from her face, "Ginny?"

"Yeah?" she looked at him.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked.

Ginny blushed but answered him, "Yes, you may."

He smirked once more before he leaned down and kissed her. Ginny sighed; he was a much better kisser than Dean, Michael, Seamus, Harry, Colin and all those other boys she had kissed. She frowned, she sounded like a bit of a slag. She pushed that thought from her mind and returned her concentration to Blaise. Suddenly, a snowball came whirring and slammed into Blaise's back.

"Oy! Get off my sister!" bellowed Ron.

They quickly jumped apart and stared at the red face of Ron, who was coming up the hill, hand clasped with Pansy while the other held another snowball.

"Oh, get over yourself, Ron, not like we need to guess what you two were doing," retorted Ginny, eyeing her brothers messed up hair and the red flush that both of them wore.

"I'm older! I don't want to see you doing things like that!"

"Fine," Ginny conceded. "I won't let you see," she muttered quietly so that none but Blaise could hear her. He smirked.

"Blaise!" cried Pansy, as if she was just noticing him. Truth was things were a bit awkward at the moment and she wanted to remedy the situation.

"Pans!" cried Blaise dramatically. The two friends rushed towards each other and Pansy tackled him to the ground.

"Ugh, Pansy! Get off!" groaned Blaise. He was cold lying there in the snow.

"Nope!" she said in a sing-song voice. Blaise rolled his eyes and got up and threw Pansy over his shoulder. That girl really needed to eat more; she weighed about as much as a house-elf.

"Blaise!" she protested as he dumped her unceremoniously at Ron's feet.

"Sorry, love," he grinned and walked back to Ginny.

Ron helped his girlfriend to her feet, swung his arm around her waist, and glared at Blaise. Blaise merely snorted at his display and draped his own arm casually around Ginny. Ron narrowed his eyes and huffed.

"Come on, dinner should be ready soon and mum's going to want to see you guys," he grumbled at his sister and the four trekked back to the house. They entered and saw the family sitting around the living room, it became silent as they entered and all the males in the room glared at Blaise who gulped.

"Listen up, I'm going to the kitchen to help mum, I expect you to treat Blaise nicely, if I hear you have done something to him, you will find that my hand has accidently slipped and ruined all of your dinners, understood?" challenged Ginny.

"Yes, Ginny," said her brothers in unison.

"Good. Enjoy yourself, Blaise!" she smiled at him before darting into the kitchen, Pansy in tow.

Blaise looked around cautiously before spotting a chair that was by itself next to a little blonde-haired toddler. He sighed and made his way over to the chair and sat down. The little girl stared up at him before looking back at her various uncles. She was a smart child and knew that they didn't like him very much, but that didn't matter - she liked him.

"Up!" she commanded. Blaise's eyes widened as he stared at the little girl who was holding her arms up at him. He could hear Ron chuckling in the background. He stared at the girl some more and his mind thought of a wonderful pro to the situation. If he held the girl, then Ginny's brothers wouldn't hurt him, not as long as the kid was in his arms. He hid his smirk and bent down to pick her up. He sat her on his knee and she smiled.

"Hi." She beamed at him,

"Hello," Blaise raised his eyebrow, "what's your name?"

"Victoire!"

"Hi, Victoire, my name is Blaise."

"Baz!"

Blaise frowned at the girl, "No. Blaise."

"Baz!" she said again.

"No. Blaise," he said firmly, "B-lai-se," he pronounced.

"Baz!"

"No, my name is Blaise!"

"Baz," whimpered Victoire in a sad voice, then she began crying.

"No, no it's okay! Stop crying, please, stop!" he ignored all the others in the room who were laughing at the situation Blaise had gotten himself into.

"Ok! Ok, you can call me Baz! Please just stop crying!"

Victoire immediately shut up and grinned at Blaise.

"Little devil's got everyone wrapped around her finger," chuckled Bill.

"Bill! Je ne veux pas vous entendre dire des choses comme ça. Et ne appeler pas ma fille une petite diable ou je vais te faire du mal!" Scolded Fleur in French as she came down the stairs and glared at her husband.

"Sorry, Fleur," he apologized, not bothering to explain to his brothers what his little wife had just said. But Blaise, who understood French perfectly thanks to his numerous visits over the years to France, just laughed

"Vous comprenez le français?" questioned Fleur as she came to stand beside Blaise who was bouncing Victoire up and down on his knee.

"Oui, ma belle femme. Je visite en France assez souvent et j'ai appris la langue." responded Blaise.

"Maman!" Victoire reached up to her mother. Fleur picked up her daughter and made little kissy faces at her before returning to Blaise with a bright smile on her face.

"Merlin, merci! Je suis tellement heureuse qu'il y a quelqu'un ici avec qui je peux parler en français! Vous devez venir avec moi!"

"Bien sûr," smirked Blaise as he got up and followed Fleur outside, thankful to get away from the men who hated him.

Fleur was quite the little chatterbox and talked about pretty much everything to Blaise. He was getting a bit tired of talking after an hour and was extremely glad when Ginny popped her head out the door and beckoned them to come inside. Blaise, being the gentleman he was, helped up Fleur and Victoire and held the door for them as they headed inside. They entered the noisy dining area and though Blaise knew that there were a lot of people in the house, it was still surprising to see so many people considering the fact that he'd spent all the Christmases that he could remember by himself, well unless you counted a house-elf as proper company. He took the empty seat in between Pansy and Ginny sat down.

"Did they do anything to you?" asked Ginny concernedly.

"No, don't worry," he smirked as he took her hand under the table and squeezed gently. Ginny smiled back at him and they turned back towards the table where a lavish feast was being lain out.

"Mum really goes all out on Christmas," muttered Ginny, seeing the look of awe on his face.

"I can see that, it's like Hogwarts, it's brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you, dear," said Molly, laughing as she walked past the two of them to set some more dishes down before taking her seat beside Arthur.

"Now, Harry owled to say that he will be having dinner with the Lovegoods…"

"Poor kid," said Ron.

"And why is that?" Molly questioned her youngest son.

"Let's just say Luna has an odd preference towards Plimpy soup," he laughed.

"Oh, the poor dear," Molly frowned and then she waved her wand and different bits of food went flying into a container she conjured up, "There, now he has something to eat when he comes back! The rest of you, tuck in! I want this table clear by the time you are done!" All the Weasley brothers immediately started to pile up their plates. Bill on the other hand filled up the plates of his daughter and wife before grabbing anything for himself. Surprisingly, so did Ron. He politely asked Pansy what she would like, and though she insisted she could get it herself, he insisted that he wanted to do it for her; she conceded and pointed out various dishes on the table that struck her fancy.

Blaise and Ginny continued to hold hands under the table as they also began to eat, sharing secret smiles with each other when no one was looking. When Molly had finished eating, she sat back in her seat and watched fondly as her large family ate, then she remembered the two additional guests that they had this year.

"Pansy, Blaise, my dears it is wonderful to have the two of you here with us tonight,"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Blaise and Pansy answered in unison.

"Please, call me Molly." she insisted.

"Thank you for having us," smiled Pansy.

"Yes, tonight has been amazing," agreed Blaise. Things continued in that fashion for a few minutes, everyone talking over each other, when all the brothers suddenly looked at each other and Bill nodded.

"Zabini, what are you intentions towards our sister?" Charlie started. Ginny sighed, she'd been expecting this. She opened her mouth but paused when Blaise squeezed her hand assuredly.

"Well, at the moment I intend to be her date to the Yule Ball. After that, who knows," he stared back at the Dragonologist.

"Did you ask our permission-"

"To ask our darling sister to the ball?" chorused Fred and George.

"He does not need your permission to ask her to a ball," chimed in Arthur Weasley.

"No, he needs yours!"

"No, he doesn't. Ron doesn't seem to dislike him, therefore I trust his good judgment and until Blaise here does something to make me think otherwise, I have absolutely no problem with him taking Ginny to the ball, and so neither should any of you." He raised an eyebrow at his children who looked like they wanted to argue the point but relented because they knew it would do no good. Ginny smiled at her father in thanks and he winked at her in return. Finally, dinner was over and Molly vanished all the dishes to the Kitchen where she charmed them to wash themselves. They all retired to the living room and sat around the fire talking about quidditch.

"I'm telling you! The Cannons have a good chance to win this year!" argued Ron.

"No, sorry, brother, but Puddlemere is going to take it."

"No they w-"

Everyone turned to the door as they heard it creek and it slowly started to open, they drew their wands, wondering who it was when Harry stumbled in. He was looking a little green but he wore the silliest smile on his face that kind of ruined the effect of being sick.

"Oh you poor, dear! Did you fly back in this weather?" scolded Molly as she got up and cast a warming spell on Harry.

"Thank you," he grinned and went and took a seat beside Blaise on the floor.

"So, mate, how was it?"

"Great." Harry's eyes glazed over.

"What'd you eat?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Yet he continued smiling. Ron rolled his eyes at his friend before leaning back into the couch.

The door burst open once more and a bushy haired girl ran in.

"Oh, hello everyone," she acknowledged as she observed everyone sitting in front of her, "It's an absolute nightmare out there! Freezing!"

"Hermione!" yelled Ginny and Pansy. They quickly got to their feet and ran across the room and grabbed Hermione by the hands. They then proceeded to drag her towards the stairs.

"You guys! Calm down!" she protested.

"No! You have to tell us how it was!" Ginny said firmly, pulling on Hermione's arms until she was finally at the stairs.

"Well goodnight everyone, hello, Blaise!" Hermione turned her head towards everyone before disappearing from view.

Ginny slammed the door shut as soon as the three girls were inside and she immediately started to question Hermione.

"How was it!"

"It was great! Narcissa is really friendly!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Told you!" said a smug Pansy.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the girls and lay down on her bed.

Ginny asked her some more questions but Hermione just hummed in response, not really answering anything.

"Hermione! You're no fun!" pouted Ginny.

"Sorry, Gin," Hermione laughed at the pouting redhead, "It was totally awesome, but I'm really tired and I just want to sleep. I have a big day tomorrow remember?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes, but sighed dramatically in response.

"Fine, come on, Pansy, let's go back downstairs." The two girls left Hermione there and proceeded to return downstairs.

"What time is it?" asked Pansy as she reached the last step.

"It's 10:30 and we should get going, Pans," responded Blaise, getting to his feet.

"Already?" asked Ginny, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, we told Draco we'd come over after his dinner," Blaise said, walking towards Ginny.

"Well, thanks for coming," Ginny smiled shyly. Blaise smirked at her.

Pansy kissed Ron goodbye while Ginny hugged Blaise, she knew her brothers would not take too kindly to her kissing a bloke in front of them.

"Bye, Blaise," she whispered

"Bye, Gin." He let her go.

"Bye, everyone!" smiled Pansy and she stepped into the fireplace, the flames swooshing around her.

"Goodbye, Weasleys, Potter, Victoire," he grinned at the little girl who waved her hand while shrieking "Baz!" He turned around and everyone in the room got a great view of his now red and gold hair and outfit. Ginny made a move to tell him but found that she couldn't talk. Her dirty little brothers and placed a _silencio_ spell on her!

"Malfoy Manner!" and just like that Blaise was gone and Ginny had her voice back.

"You prats!" she lunged at Fred and George who were laughing hysterically. She cast her Bat-bogey hex at all her brothers and stormed off upstairs.

The last thing she heard before closing her door was the shrieking of her various brothers as they tried to fend off the flying bogeys. She stared at Hermione's sleeping figure and she smiled to herself. Today went well, very well indeed.

* * *

**HELLO EVERYONE! How are you? I apologize that the story is progressing slowly, it's just that while I know what I want to do, I'm having trouble putting it into writing... but don't worry, I'm having a lot of fun just writing this right now :) **

**Here are the french translations:**

**"Bill! Je ne veux pas vous entendre dire des choses comme ça. Et ne appeler pas ma fille une petite diable ou je vais te faire du mal!" **Bill, I don't want to hear you saying things like this, and don't call my daughter a devil or I'll hurt you!

**"Vous comprenez le français?" You understand french?**

**"Oui. Je visite en France assez souvent et j'ai appris la langue." **Yes, I visit France often enough and i've learnt the language.

**"Merlin, merci! Je suis tellement heureuse qu'il y a quelqu'un ici avec qui je peux parler en français! Vous devez venir avec moi!" **Merlin! Thank you! I'm so happy that there's someone here that I can speak french with! You must come with me!

**"Bien sûr," **Of course

**And thank you once again to all of my lovely reviewers and my beta SoUsay234!**

**Please leave me a review telling me what you like/don't like, what you want to see or basically anything!**

**And I have a question! You know how on fanfiction you can add a story to the top of the page so that you can click it later so that you can read it? Well my option of doing that is gone and I have no idea why, do you know? I had ten stories in there and I tried to add a new one and then it was gone!**

**Also, I don't recieve emails anymore when I get reviews or alerts for anything... help?**

**See you soon!**


	21. Lupin, want to go look at the full moon?

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter. **

* * *

Hermione got up from her knees, brushing them off too make sure that there was no soot on them. She'd just ended her floo call with Tonks, confirming the schedule for the day. Tonks, Remus, Andromeda, and Teddy were to casually stroll into Le Tournesol, under the pretense that they were to enjoy a nice family lunch together, and they would be, there would just be three extra people. Hermione was really nervous about this, she hoped that neither Narcissa nor Andromeda would be upset with her; after all, she was just trying to help. But she couldn't waste any more time worrying; she had to get to the restaurant soon so that she could meet Draco and his mother. Bidding farewell to the habitants of the Burrow, Hermione apparated away.

Once she got to the restaurant, it wasn't very hard to spot the Malfoy's - they kind of stuck out like a sore thumb with their platinum blonde hair. Grinning, Hermione made her way over to their table.

"Draco, Narcissa, hello!" Hermione greeted.

"Ah, Hermione, how lovely it is too see you again!" Narcissa hugged the girl and they both sat down, Draco merely rolled his eyes, they'd only seen each other last night and they were acting like it'd been years.

"How are you?" asked Hermione to Draco.

"Lovely, oh and Blaise asked me to ask you to tell Ginny to let her brother's know that he has had to burn his clothes since their little charm wouldn't come off,"

Hermione giggled, Ginny had given her a rundown of last night's events that morning.

"Well, it's a good thing he did, if my guess is correct, they used the charm that vanishes the clothes after five hours," Draco just shook his head muttering things about childish redheads.

"Well, shall we order?" Asked Narcissa, smiling at the two teenagers sitting across from her.

"Yes," answered Hermione slowly, looking towards the door, and as if on cue, it opened and in walked the Tonks and Lupins. Narcissa hadn't yet noticed them, but Tonks looked at Hermione who gave her a subtle thumb up. Tonks steered her family in their direction.

"Hermione! It's so great to see you!"

"Tonks! What a surprise!" Hermione said enthusiastically, getting up to give her friend a hug.

"Remus, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Hermione," Remus had a knowing look in his eyes but Hermione just ignored him and cooed over her godson who was reaching up at her.

"Teddy! How's my favorite little boy?" Hermione cradled him to her.

"Good, auntie!" Replied the two-year-old boy, latching his arms around her neck.

"Andromeda, it's been so long," Hermione hugged the woman while balancing Teddy, "Oh, where are my manners?Please sit!" Hermione all but shoved Andromeda into her now vacant seat. Andromeda and Narcissa both looked away from each other, determined not to say anything. "Draco, Narcissa, these are my friends Tonks, Remus and Andromeda, and this is my godson, Teddy!" Teddy stared curiously at the two people he had never seen before.

"And this is, Draco and his mother, Narcissa, oh but you all know each other don't you?"

Now, Narcissa and Andromeda were both intelligent women, they knew what Hermione was up to, how could they not? It was blatantly obvious what she was doing, they both figured it out when she started to introduce them, and obviously they all knew who was who.

"What's that, Teddy? You want some ice cream?" Hermione leaned towards the boy, pretending he was saying something to her.

"Well, if you insist. Teddy, come Draco, you can come with me while we get him some, oh, Tonks, Remus, you might as well come along as well!" Hermione pulled Draco to his feet. "We'll be back before you know it ladies!" She pushed everyone towards the entrance and out into the streets of Diagon Alley, leaving behind Narcissa and Andromeda.

"Hermione, I swear, if this doesn't go well, I had absolutely nothing to do with it," warned Draco as they walked away from the restaurant.

"I agree, I'm not going to be dragged into this any further," nodded Tonks. Hearing their voiced seemed to snap Hermione out of whatever trance she was in and she gasped.

"Oh, right! How could I forget? Draco, meet your cousin Nymphadora Tonks, Tonks meet Draco,"

The two cousins looked awkwardly at each other; Tonks was the one who broke the silence.

"Wotcher, Draco," she greeted.

"Nymphadora," Draco nodded.

Tonks' hair started to turn a bit red, which surprised Draco; nobody had told him his cousin was a metamorphagus.

"Don't call me, Nymphadora, it's Tonks," she stated firmly.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't know," mumbled Draco.

"That's fine," Tonks grinned, her hair returning back to normal, "Oh, meet my family, this is my husband, Remus, though you already know him."

"Professor," said Draco, shaking the man's hand.

Remus chuckled, "I'm not your professor anymore, and you may call me, Remus."

"And this right here, is my little angel, Teddy," said Tonks, proudly, taking her son from Hermione.

"Teddy, meet your cousin, Draco," Tonks pointed at the young man.

Draco's eyes widened in surprise when Teddy's hair started to change to the exact same shade of his own, he defiantly had not been expecting that.

"Draco," Teddy reached for him. Draco just looked at the kid.

"Draco," Hermione hissed, elbowing him in his ribcage, "he wants you to hold him!"

Draco reluctantly held his hands out to the child and took him from his mother. Teddy's face split into a wide grin when he looked up at Draco. He tried to reach up to touch his hair, but Draco wasn't having any of that. That hair took a very long time to do; he wasn't going to let some kid ruin it.

Hermione was so happy at the moment; her plan was playing out wonderfully.

"Auntie!" shouted Teddy, getting everyone's attention.

"Yes, sweetie?" questioned Hermione.

"Ishe-cweam!" he pouted. Hermione groaned, she'd almost forgotten about that. She'd been hoping that Teddy would forget about it, he got extremely hyper when he had sugar.

"Oh right, well, come on, let's get going then."

The group of five made their way to Florean Fortescue's, ignoring the curious stares they were receiving from everyone.

"I wan' big!" demanded Teddy as they entered the shop and he saw all the different ice cream displays.

"No, Teddy, you're getting a small because it's cold outside and we don't want you to get sick," interjected his mother before Hermione could reply, they were all well aware of her weak resolve when it came to the boy.

Teddy pouted but didn't say anything; he just turned his face into Draco's arm so that he wouldn't have to look at anyone. Tonks merely rolled her eyes and said, "Which flavor would you like sweetie?"

Anger forgotten, Teddy's face immediately brightened and he started shouting;

"Chocolate! No, Stwaberry! No, Wainbow!" Draco had to hold on to Teddy especially tight since he was squirming around so much, he'd be in a lot of trouble if he dropped the kid.

"Vanilla it is," said Tonks as she went up to Florean and asked for a small vanilla cone with sprinkles.

She came back and handed the dessert to Teddy, and though it wasn't what he'd asked for, he didn't seem to mind at all since he immediately started licking away his ice-cream, ignoring everyone else.

"Well, do you think we should go back now?" Asked Remus, looking at his watch.

"How long has it been?" inquired Hermione, not wanting to go back to soon.

"It's been about fifteen minutes since we left them," he replied.

"Hmm, let's walk around for another fifteen, and then go back, I think that a half-hour should suffice."

"Well, what should we do until then?" Asked Draco, trying to keep the boy in his arms from dripping his ice-cream on his expensive coat, sure he could just magic the stain away, but it would just so much easier if there was nothing on the coat in the first place.

"Books!" Grinned Hermione. Draco and Tonks both groaned while Remus just smiled at his former student, she wasn't the only one with a love for literature.

They slowly made their way to Flourish and Blotts, and Teddy, who had finished his ice-cream and gotten bored, started to change his hair, matching the colors of everyone they passed. It was a good laugh until his hair turned red, an unmistakable red-

"HELLO, FRIENDS!" Bellowed the voices of the twins, making their way over to the group. Draco groaned.

"Wotcher!" Greeted Tonks.

"And what's a fine group like yourself, minus the Slytherin, doing out on a fine day like this?" Asked Fred, or was it George? Draco honestly had no clue.

"WE are heading to Flourish and Blotts," Hermione put emphasis on the _we _part.

"Are you surprised, brother?" asked twin one, as Draco was now going to call them since he couldn't tell the difference.

"No I am not brother, after all, where else would dear sweet Hermione go?" replied twin two.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at the twins, hand inching towards her pocket where her wand was. "Go to work!"

"We were just on our way over there-"

"Yeah, no need to get all huffy-"

"Bye!" chorused the twins together, all but running away.

"You are a frightening girl, Hermione," said Remus, looking impressed.

"Yeah, if you were an auror, you wouldn't even need to raise your wand, just look at the bad guys and they'll go willingly into a cell at Azkaban!" laughed Tonks, Draco, Remus, and even little Teddy, though he didn't understand, joined her while Hermione just glared at them before making her way to her favorite shop.

Grumbling about rude people, she vanished into one of the many aisles. Remus took off after her, hoping to find some book while Draco and Tonks just stood at the entrance. It was a bit awkward, but Tonks broke the silence.

"So, how are you?"

"Um, fine, you?"

"Pretty well, do you think our mum's will be mad at us?"

"Well, mine might, for a bit, but she'll forgive Hermione and me soon enough, I think."

"Hm, that's good. I just hope that this plan of hers pays off and that they get over whatever problems they've got with each other," said Tonks, looking at Teddy who was scrunching his nose as he eyed all the books.

"Yeah, mum's lonely when I'm at school, it'll be good for her to have someone to talk to," agreed Draco.

They remained silent for the next ten minutes, standing as they waited for the two bookworms to come back. Finally they emerged, Hermione shrinking some books to put in her pocket while Remus looked a bit down.

"They didn't have it?" asked Tonks.

"No," Remus sighed.

"What book were you looking for exactly," asked Hermione curiously.

"Hairy Snout, Human Heart." He replied. "I want Teddy to be well-informed and I figure if he reads about it, he'll know more stuff."

"Oh, I have that book at the house, want me to owl it to you?" Interjected Draco.

"Uh, why do you have it?" asked Remus, looking a bit confused.

"Oh, mum always wanted me to be well-educated so she made me read loads of random books,"

"Oh, well, sure, if it's no trouble, I'd love to borrow it, thanks," smiled Remus.

"No problem, I'll send it to you as soon as I get home, speaking of, we should go see how the mum's are doing," said Draco, looking at Hermione.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, let's get moving!" Hermione waved to the shop owner and made her way out the door and down the streets of Diagon Alley, the others following behind her.

"Alright, let's go in… hope the restaurant hasn't been blown to smithereens, and find them," Tonks said, looking around.

Everyone looked at each other, before Hermione opened the door and walked in.

They looked around, all right, no one's hurt, everything's intact, wait… where are they?

Hermione voiced the last part out loud. Luckily a waitress heard her and pointed them in the direction of the staircase, apparently, Narcissa and Andromeda had requested to be moved to an isolated place, one where no one could see them.

"You guys, I'm scared," said Hermione, looking fearfully at the door at the top of the stairs.

"This was your idea, Hermione, now get up there!" Draco gave her a little push. They walked up the stairs, and Hermione gulped when she reached the top. She closed her eyes and slowly opened the door.

There, in the middle of the room, sitting quietly were the two sisters, they looked over and Narcissa eyed Draco strangely, he wondered why until he remembered that Teddy was in his arms.

"Gramma!" shouted Teddy, eyeing his grandmother and reaching out to her. The group made their way over to the two ladies and Draco handed Teddy to Andromeda. His arms felt like a great weight had been lifted off of them, it's not that Teddy was heavy, but holding a kid for half an hour without pause was tiring!

"So…" started Hermione. No one answered her.

"Well… the room's still intact," she said, trying to get a conversation going.

Hermione, Draco, Remus and Tonks all stared at each other, worriedly. Hermione's eyes were wide and fearful; she was really regretting her plan now.

Finally, after a moment's silence, it appeared that Narcissa and Andromeda couldn't hold it in any longer, they burst into laughter at the looks on their faces.

"Oh, you children," giggled Narcissa.

"Kids will be kids, I suppose," laughed Andromeda.

"Wait, I'm really confused… don't you hate each other?" asked Hermione, looking around. The others all held the same look of disbelief that she did.

"Oh Hermione," Narcissa got up and gave her a hug while Andromeda just grinned at her. Okay, Hermione was really confused now.

"W-what?"

"Thank you, for arranging this little get together-" smiled Narcissa.

"It's about time we started to talk again-" nodded Andromeda.

"And the two of us were just too stubborn to throw away our pride and speak to the other," they finished together.

Draco looked at them in horror, "No, no, no! This can't be happening!" Everyone looked at him in surprise, why was he upset?

"You, you guys are acting like the Weasley twins! Finishing each other's sentences!" He pointed a finger accusingly at them. Oh, that's why he was upset. Hermione laughed.

"Andy, this is my son, Draco. Draco, meet your aunt," Narcissa looked at her son, daring him to object any more.

"I… hello," mumbled Draco.

"Draco," warned his mother.

"I mean, hello, it's good to finally meet you, how are you?" Draco held his hand out. Andromeda smiled, she shook his hand and said to Narcissa,

"You've raised a fine young man, Cissy,"

"Oh trust me, it was a struggle," Narcissa rolled her eyes.

"Tonks, meet your aunt, Narcissa, this is my daughter Tonks,"

"Wotcher aunt Narcissa, pleased to meet you," Tonks grinned.

"The pleasure's all mine," Teddy, who seemed to be getting upset that no one was paying him any attention, started chanting, "Me, me, me, me!"

"This little egocentric fellow is my grandson, Teddy, say hello to your great aunt,"

"Pwetty!" shouted Teddy.

"Oh, well aren't you just a little dear?" cooed Narcissa, tickling the little boy.

"Well, we really must be going now, but I'll send you an owl Cissy," said Andromeda, looking a bit sad.

"Oh, well, if you must, it was great to see you again Andy," The two women hugged and everyone said their goodbyes. Finally, it was just the Malfoy's and Hermione left.

"Well, I'm happy that everything went well, what about you Draco?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, you were right, it turned out fine," Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well, thanks for coming today, Narcissa, I'll see you soon I hope?" said Hermione.

"Of course, dear."

"Goodbye! See you in two days, Draco!"

"Bye!" Hermione apparated away.

Draco couldn't wait for the two days to pass, then they'd be back at Hogwarts, and it'd be the ball. He couldn't wait to sweep Hermione off her feet.

* * *

**Hey you guys, I apologize for the long delay between chapters. School and my personal life have just been so hectic lately. I write whenever I have spare time. Please review and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!**

**I would like to thank cherryblossom-vanilla, Niriamel, LiSs3y, jtrem, Karate Chic, roni2010, KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun, and TempeBooth1 for reviewing last chapter.**

******slytherinprincess91 : I know that Fleur knows how to speak English. However, I simply wanted to include some French in there because I speak French. Thanks for reviewing!**QUESTION: Is anyone going to see the exhibition in New York? I wish I could!


	22. Falling in love, with Hermione Granger

**First: I've gone through and edited all the chapters, nothing drastic though. Second, I'm awful. I'm so sorry how long this has taken. I've got a note at the bottom to explain my epic failure. HP Belongs to JK!**

* * *

"Goodbye everyone! Stay safe!" Shouted Mrs. Weasley as the Hogwarts Express zoomed out of the platform. Sure, they could have apparated to Hogsmeade, but this was their final year and they only had three more possible train rides after this. They'd never get the chance again.

"I'm bored," Ron plopped into his seat across from Harry and Luna.

"Would you like to go hunting for some Nargles with me Ronald?" Luna's voice floated across the compartment.

"Err… no, I think I'll pass this time, thanks." Ron answered her as politely as he could; he didn't want Harry to get mad at him after all.

Ginny and Hermione sat across from each other, heads bent together and they were whispering things.

"Yeah, so we're officially dating now," whispered Ginny.

"That's great!" grinned Hermione.

"Yeah, but what about you guys? Where do you stand?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I don't really know," Hermione answered with a bit of a frown on her face. "We're friends… not dating or anything; he's just my date to the ball, after that, who knows."

Ginny's reply was cut off by the compartment door opening with a loud bang.

"Hello Gryffindorks minus Lovegood and my lovely girlfriend!" Blaise spread his arms out wide during his declaration. He was then pushed forward almost violently by Draco.

"Keep moving Romeo," he rolled his eyes.

"Hmph" Blaise grunted before going to sit down next to Ginny. Draco scanned the compartment with his eyes before they fell upon Hermione. His eyes seemed like they lit up when they saw her.

"Hey muffin," he muttered with a grin as he hugged her.

"Hello Dragon," she whispered.

"What in Merlin's saggy left-"

"What!" Hermione interrupted. "Why can you can give me a nickname and I can't?" she asked innocently.

"That's hardly a nickname, it's just the meaning of my name, not very original of you," he smirked.

"Fine. Give me a bit of time, I'll come up with something amazing!" she smirked back at him.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up, when the bloody hell did the two of you start dating?" demanded Ron, glaring at Blaise and his sister. Pansy rubbed his back, trying to calm him down a little.

"Don't worry about it," replied Ginny.

"I will worry about it! You're my sister!" he argued.

"When did you and Pansy start dating?" Ginny shouted. Hermione _silencioed_ the compartment.

"That's different!" he yelled, his face red.

"Oh, I'm sure it is you hypocrite! You're such a git!" Ginny was almost standing by this point.

"You're a slag!" Everything in the compartment went quiet. Blaise looked furious and he stood to defend his girlfriend when someone beat him to the punch.

"Will both of you shut the hell up!" Shouted Harry. "Merlin, it's so bloody frustrating and so annoying hearing the two of you at each other's throats all the time!" Everyone shut up; nobody wanted to get on the bad side of the boy who defeated the Dark Lord.

"Sorry Harry," mumbled Ron.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to!" Harry pointed his wand at Ron before gesturing it at Ginny. "You don't call your sister a slag! So what if they're dating, get over it! At least Blaise is a good guy. Be thankful she's not with someone like Mclaggen!

"Sorry Ginny," squeaked Ron, looking terrified.

"Ginny, accept his apology," commanded Harry, who put his wand away.

"I accept your apology Ron," Ginny spoke quickly.

"Good, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" asked Harry, sitting back down next to his girlfriend.

Things remained silent for a minute or two, it was pretty awkward as well.

"Anyone up for a game for exploding snap?" offered Pansy weakly. Ron and her ended being the only ones playing. Harry and Luna were flipping through the pages of the Quibbler. Harry didn't necessarily believe in all the stuff that the Quibbler spouted, but he humored Luna and never went against what she said. Ginny was resting her head on Blaise's shoulder and he had his arms around her, they were fast asleep. Hermione sat there next to Draco observing her friends. They were all so _couple-ish_. She and Draco were the odd ones out. For one, they weren't dating. Two, they had a good space in between them as they sat; they were barely talking as well. Hermione thought it was a bit awkward to be honest. She just shrugged to herself, maybe things would change after the ball tonight. And with that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"No, no, no! The white trees go along that wall!" cried a frustrated Hermione. Nothing was going as planned and it was giving her a major headache. The ball was slated to start in two hours, and nothing was ready yet.

"I said that wall!" she pointed at the one on the opposite side of where the prefects were placing it. This whole thing was aggravating her and she honestly felt like pulling out her hair at that moment, and she probably would have if not for a small interruption.

"Hermione," came the voice of Draco.

"What," she gritted out.

"You need to calm down and take a break. Let me handle this," he said smoothly.

"What? No! Draco, as Head Girl it is my duty to plan this ball and-"

"I'm Head Boy and I assure you that I am more than capable of telling people what to do. Also, I'd rather have my date does show up to the ball and not spontaneously combust," he interjected.

"But," Hermione's protest died away as Draco put his hand over her mouth.

"Hermione, go, Pansy and Ginny are already done their duties, go get ready with them; let me handle this, please." He looked into her eyes.

"Fine," Hermione sighed. "But, first sign of trouble; you had better let me know Draco Malfoy!"

"I promise," Draco gave her a little push towards the exit. "Now go!" Hermione grumbled to herself as she was practically forced from the Great Hall.

* * *

"You guys," started Hermione nervously, "I'm not sure how I feel about this!" Hermione started backing away from her two supposed friends.

"Oh shut it Granger," hissed Pansy.

"Seriously Hermione," growled Ginny.

"But- OW!" squealed Hermione. "You guys, stop!"

"Silencio!" muttered Pansy. Ginny smirked.

"Well, that makes things easier, good job Pansy."

"Thanks, now let's hurry up and finish what we started, there's no getting away now Hermione!" Pansy cackled as she held up an object in her hand.

Hermione's eyes widened, she struggled to get away, unfortunately years of Quidditch had made Ginny exceptionally strong for someone of her small frame and she was able to hold Hermione down effortlessly. Hermione tried kicking away, but to no avail. Pansy was advancing on her quickly, Hermione gulped, she had no chance, it was all over. She experienced a tiny bit of discomfort, and then it was gone. Suddenly Ginny's hold on her disappeared and Hermione slowly opened her eyes. Pansy and Ginny now stood in front of her; Pansy was twirling her eyelash curler in her hand.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" she asked. If looks could kill, they'd both be dead right now.

"Oh right," grinned Ginny, "_Finite incantantem._"

"That thing is a torture device!" Hermione yelled, pointing at the curler.

"You'd know," muttered Pansy, while saying something that sounded suspiciously like "muggle".

"I think it's safe to say we're ready," Pansy declared, eyeing the two witches up and down.

"I hope Luna managed to get ready alright," mentioned Ginny.

"She'll be fine," assured Hermione, "She'll look wonderful!"

"Well, as much as I love to stand around and talk about people, we really must be going now," Pansy made her way over to the entrance of the Head's room where the girls had gotten ready. Draco had chosen to retire to the Slytherin common room with Blaise in order to get dressed.

The girls made their way down the passage ways of Hogwarts, walking for what seemed like forever in their high heels. Luckily, after ten minutes at a brisk pace, they were around the corner from the staircase that would lead them to the Great Hall.

"Now remember, the boys said that they would be waiting for us at the bottom of the staircase," reminded Pansy as she all but ran to the staircase.

"Calm down Pansy," said Ginny, "Not like my ugly brother's going anywhere." Pansy stuck her tongue out at her in response.

As they reached the stairs, as did Luna.

"Hello girls!" she greeted, before making her way down the stairs and over to Harry who looked speechless. If they thought that Luna looked good when she'd tried on the dress, it was nothing compared to now. You'd never have guessed that this was the same girl that talked about silly creatures and sometimes walked around without shoes. She looked stunning. She wore the pale pink dress with only matching chandelier earrings. Her hair was falling down her back in a cascade of waves, Luna looked absolutely amazing. It was no wonder that Harry looked like he might pass out.

The three girls got over their shock of seeing Luna looking so lovely and nodded to each other. They made their way down the staircase and over to their dates.

Ron looked like he was going to pass out when he saw Pansy. Her emerald green dress was very form fitting except at the end where it flared out a bit. She wore silver bracelets, earrings and a silver ring. She looked like the Slytherin queen. Pansy giggled as she saw his reaction to her appearance. Then, she took his arm and led him into the Great Hall, followed by Harry and Luna.

Blaise simply smirked as he saw Ginny.

"My lady, that shade of silver looks exquisite on you," he murmured as he placed a kiss on her cheek. And indeed it did, the silver definitely brought out the red in Ginny's hair. If only her brothers saw her now, she thought as she and Blaise also went into the Great Hall.

That left Hermione, looking around for her date that didn't appear to be there. She scanned the entire room, not once pausing to look at her fellow classmates who were gaping at her in astonishment. She didn't see countless girls slapping their boyfriends on the head so that they could regain their attention. She only looked for Draco, and it saddened her to see that he wasn't there.

"Wow," Hermione spun on her foot and looked behind her. There stood Draco, dressed in black dress robes and a deep purple tie that perfectly matched her dress.

"Draco," breathed Hermione. Draco looked her over, stunned. She looked simply divine.

"It's not too much is it?" asked Hermione worriedly when Draco didn't speak. He finally snapped out of his trance and looked her in the eyes.

"You look gorgeous," he whispered as he stepped closer to her. Hermione smiled nervously. Finally, Draco shook his head and grinned at her.

"Here, I got you something," he held out a simple box.

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything!"

"I know, I wanted to," He replied.

Hermione's curiosity got the best of her and she finally opened the box.

"Oh!" she gasped. Inside lay a beautiful necklace. The same necklace that Hermione had been so enamored with the day she bought her dress.

"How'd you know?" she asked quietly, still in awe of the gift.

"I'd asked Pansy to pick out a piece of jewelry for you and put it on hold so I could come for it later, she said you seemed quite taken with this particular piece. And before you say you can't accept it, just know that it is non-refundable and since I have no use for it, there is really no other choice besides you keeping it," he said.

"Oh Draco!" Hermione threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Draco smirked, "let me put it on you."

Hermione turned around and a second later, she felt the stone from the necklace on her bare skin. It was gorgeous. A simple silver necklace with tiny diamonds embedded into it.

"Draco," Hermione muttered.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Look up," she blushed. Draco flicked his eyes upwards and fought to keep his smirk off his face. Mistletoe.

"Guess we have no choice huh?" he all but exclaimed.

"Yeah," she whispered. There was no one else around.

After looking at her for a moment, he took the plunge. His arms wrapped around her, bringing her against him, and then his lips touched her own and she closed her eyes. She hesitated at first, but then she started to kiss him back. His hands moved up into her hair as he continued to shower her with kisses. She felt her own hands wrap around his shoulders as she pulled herself closer.

She pulled back a little to suck in a breath and Draco stopped.

"I'm sorry." He panted.

"It's alright," Hermione blushed, looking down at the floor. It was silent for a moment.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you're my date tonight," he started, "but, would you be willing to be something more?"

Hermione cocked her head to the side.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked hesitantly.

Hermione bit her lip, "Of course!" she threw her arms around Draco, hugging him tightly.

"Great, oh bugger, come on, we need to enter now, its 6," smirked Draco, holding his arm out to his date - _girlfriend_ - and leading them into the Great hall. Just like at the Yule Ball, all eyes seemed to be on Hermione. People were stunned by the change in her appearance.

"It's beautiful Draco!" said Hermione, beaming as she took in the Great hall. Draco had done a fabulous job decorating it after she'd left. The trees were all in the right places, fake snow was falling from the ceiling, the whole Hall seemed like it glittered.

"Thank you," he replied.

"Ah, here they are, please welcome your Head Girl and Head boy, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy!" announced Dumbledore, eyes twinkling.

"They will open the night with the first dance, and then we will all join in!" With a flourish of his wand, the band started playing.

"Ready?" asked Draco.

"As I'll ever be," she responded, and off they were. Dancing with Draco was a lot different from dancing with Viktor. Don't get her wrong or anything, she absolutely loved that night, but there was just something more relaxed and special about being at the ball with Draco. It was just different. Slowly, the couples started pouring onto the dance floor and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Finally, after about four songs, Draco and Hermione decided to take a break and they made their way over to their table. The others were already sitting there.

"Zabini, I'm serious, I don't want to see your hands all over my little sister," Ron practically growled.

"Shut it Ron!" retorted Ginny, not letting Blaise get a word in.

"I'm not kidding around! I accept that you're a couple now, but no brother wants to see that!"

"And none of us want to see you groping Pansy at the table!"

"I didn't!"

"Well it sure looked like it!"

"Why are you so bloody infuriating?" demanded Ron.

"Why do you always have to ruin every bit of happiness that I have?" cried Ginny. Luckily no one, but the occupants of the table had noticed the latest argument between the siblings, thankfully because it seemed like Ginny was actually crying. Her eyes were shining with moisture.

"Hey, just ignore him," comforted Blaise as Ginny sniffed.

"Ronald! Apologize right now! Leave your sister alone, or I swear to Merlin you won't be seeing me for a while!" Pansy looked furious.

Ron knew he'd done something wrong. As much as his sister and him argued, he never liked making her cry, and she rarely did. Ginny was about as tough as they came. He groaned and walked over to her before pulling her away from everyone else. She protested, but he just kept going.

Finally they were alone.

"Look Ginny, I'm sorry for upsetting you, but you have to understand where I'm coming from," he explained.

"Why can't you just leave Blaise and I alone?" she demanded.

"Because, no brother wants to see his little sister with a guy who isn't family. It's just the way things are," he reasoned.

"Well that's stupid!" she retorted.

"Gin, I want you to be happy, I just don't want to see so much PDA between the two of you,"

"Fine, let's compromise, I don't see you and Pansy, you don't see me and Blaise," she proposed.

Ron seemed to be contemplating it for a bit, but he finally agreed. They hugged and made their way back to the table where everyone was sitting.

"Sorry about that," Ron cleared his throat before slipping into his seat beside Pansy.

"The hall looks lovely," praised Luna.

"Thank you, it was all Draco really," replied Hermione.

"Please, like any of this would have happened if it wasn't for you and your planning," said Draco.

"I heard lots of people complaining about the mistletoe," added Blaise.

"Oh? Why's that?" questioned Hermione, thankfully no one noticed her blush.

"Because," he shrugged, "The ones who stayed here during the break kept getting stuck with people they didn't like, made things pretty awkward I reckon."

"Whatever, they can deal with it," Draco rolled his eyes.

The girls then got up to go say hello to their friends. As they were gone, Hermione managed to tell them about her new found relationship with Draco, something they were all extremely happy about.

"Finally!" cried an exasperated Ginny.

"Honestly, we thought he'd never ask you out!"

"Oh hush!" Hermione ducked her head and grinned as they returned to the table. Next came the dinner. The house-elves had really gone all out. The food was fantastic. It tasted great, looked amazing, and smelled delicious. Hermione had just finished her meal and was turning to ask Ginny something when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"Hello Hermione," drawled Cormac Mclaggen.

"Hi," she greeted hesitantly. No one else seemed to be really paying attention to him.

"You look beautiful," well that certainly got everyone's attention. Hermione could see Draco from the corner of her eye glaring at Mclaggen.

"Um, thanks," she replied, confused, "did you need something?"

"Oh, yes, I was just wondering if you wanted to dance?"

Before she could answer, Draco stood up.

"Piss off, Mclaggen. She's here with me and isn't going to be dancing with you." Now, normally Hermione would have protested someone making decisions for her, however, in this particular case, she didn't mind that Draco was getting rid of Mclaggen for her.

"I think she can answer for herself, Malfoy," Mclaggen stood to his full height.

"And I think that you should leave now," growled Draco, also standing straight, looking down at Mclaggen who was about three inches shorter than him. Mclaggen finally seemed to get the point, but he didn't leave before winking at Hermione and smirking. Before Draco could blink, he was gone.

"What was that? Why was he winking at you?" demanded Draco.

"How am I supposed to know?" responded Hermione, flinching at the glare that Draco was directing at her.

"Sure you don't!"

"Draco, wh-" but it was too late, Draco had stormed away from everyone, leaving a very sad, and very confused Hermione in his wake.

"I-I don't understand," she muttered, looking at the entrance to the Great Hall through which Draco had just exited.

"Hermione, it's okay," Blaise interrupted, "Draco just gets really jealous easily, don't worry, he'll come around quickly."

"But, I didn't even do anything!" she protested.

"Yeah, we know, but that's just the way he is, just give him a few minutes to cool down," said Pansy, staring sadly at the girl.

"No, I'm going to find him right now," said Hermione determinedly as she traced her boyfriend's footsteps out of the Great Hall, ignoring the calls of her friends.

She stood in front of the doors and looked both ways before thinking of which way she wanted to go. She had no idea which way Draco had gone, and was just about to give up and go back when she heard some muffled voices. Curiosity piqued, she followed the voices. She quietly made her way around the corner and stared at the scene before her. Astoria and Draco.

"You look handsome tonight Draco," Astoria practically purred as she walked up to him, looking graceful even in her 6-inch heels and very short dress. Draco barely spared her a glance as he muttered thanks.

"What's wrong?" asked Astoria in her ugly voice, well in Hermione's opinion at least.

"Nothing," Draco finally looked at her.

"Really, doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's nothing Greengrass," Draco's voice was like ice.

"Hmm," sighed Astoria, as she made her way closer to Draco who tensed up as she approached.

"I think I can make it all better," she said as she looked at him from under her eyelashes. And then she attacked, well, sort of.

She latched her arms around Draco and kissed him, full on the mouth. It only lasted about two seconds, before Draco violently pushed her away. He then heard a gasp and looked in the direction of Hermione.

"I-Hermione! It's not what you think!" he cried. Hermione ignored him. Instead, she set her sights on a smirking Astoria who paled a bit as she noticed Hermione's glare.

"_Avis Oppungo!"_ Hermione hissed. A flock of birds attacked Astoria, who shrieked before running away. Finally, it was quiet.

"Hermione, I swear, she just-"

"It's okay Draco, there's no need to explain. See, unlike you, I know that a relationship is based on trust. I trust you, even though you can't return the courtesy," Hermione whispered, before fleeing back to the Great Hall. Draco made to follow her, but was blocked off by a shield that Hermione had wordlessly put up. He stood there, worried and upset while he launched spell after spell at the shield so that it would come down, shouting after Hermione, telling her to wait.

"Hey, did you find him?" asked Ginny, as Hermione returned to the table.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered. Everyone stared at her worriedly. Harry was just about to ask her what happened when Dean came up to them.

"Hermione, would you like to dance?" he asked politely.

"I'd love to," she responded after only a moment's hesitation, and he took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor.

"What just happened?" Ron asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Song after song, Hermione danced with a different guy. Seamus, Neville, Harry, Ron, Blaise, Terry, and Anthony were just a few. Luckily, Draco hadn't broken through the shield yet and he wasn't there. Hermione finally tired of all the spinning and she excused herself from Colin and headed out the doors to the courtyard so she could relax. It was a bit chilly out, but it didn't bother her.

She'd been sitting there in silence for ten minutes before she heard footsteps. She whirled around and saw a dark figure standing by the tree.

"Who's there?" she demanded, drawing her wand.

"It's just me," came a voice.

"Show yourself!" After a moment, Cormac stepped out from the shadow of the tree so that Hermione could see him properly.

"Oh, it's just you," she said flatly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, as he moved towards her.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Doesn't seem like nothing," he stated as he came closer to her.

"It's nothing Cormac, I just want to be left alone for a while," Hermione muttered as she turned away.

"Really? Why is it, Hermione, that you can dance with all these other guys, but not with me? Am I not good enough for you?" He grabbed her arm.

"What? Cormac, let go of me! Now!" Hermione twisted around trying to get her wand which had fallen to the floor.

"Answer my question!"

"Let go! You're hurting me-" her protest died on her lips as his crashed to hers. She heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow before they died away. Hermione panicked and started pushing him, but he wouldn't budge. She struggled. Finally, when she felt his tongue, she freaked out and kneed him in his family jewels. He fell to the floor with a groan. Hermione grabbed her wand and hexed him before she ran for it, which was not an easy feat when one is wearing heels in the snow.

She'd just about made it back inside when someone grabbed her from behind, muffling her shriek with their hand.

* * *

**OH SNAP! I am the worst author ever. Legit. Let me explain to you why I haven't updated. Well, I started a new job, had exams and then I went on vacation for a bit. My life has just been so crazy hectic over the past four months that I honestly just haven't had time to sit down and write anything. But it is summer now, and I have a bit more time to write. So I thought, that in honor of Harry Potter coming to an end, I would give you all this chapter that I've had written for some time now. It is un-beta'd, so I'm sorry if it has mistakes. :(**** I will try my very best to update more often for you!**

**Also, you all finally got your Dramione Kiss! And no story remains happy forever, not even mine :) Sorry! Guess we'll figure out if they work out their relationship later! =O**

**WHO WENT AND SAY HPpt2? It was amazing. As soon as Snape died, I started to cry and I didn't stop until the end! I hated the way that Bellatrix and Voldemort died though. Like really? Why is she exploding? That's not how it happens... and I hated how no one witnessed Voldemorts death. And oh wow, that epilogue. EW. They all, except Hermione, looked bad. It's only been 19 years, not 50! Anyways, I'll stop with my rant.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!**

**TempeBooth1, jtrem, EmoPrincess21, taybeth, bzsilver, happygoluckyfull, Siriuslyback, Snapesdiary, Minnieismyidol, Flibbles, and to respond to ClaraimsCullen's question, I use quotes from it for my chapter names because I really enjoyed the musical and they fit in with the content of my chapters :)**

**I'll try to update soon! PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know how this chapter was!**

**ALSO: I have an album that has images for this story. There is a banner, and chapter images, also the Yule Ball dresses are in there! I'll add the Chapter images as I get them seeing as how I haven't had any more made yet! BUT HERE'S THE LINK :)**

**www(DOT)photobucket(DOT)com/justacrush**

**^ just remove the (DOT) for a . :)**


	23. Well, aren't we an odd couple?

**I'm sorry for my tardiness :( I've just been so busy! **

**I have an account on Pottermore! I'm _NimbusStone68_, add me and review to let me know who you are so I can add you :)**

**JK ROWLING OWNS HP :)**

* * *

_Previously,_

_"Let go! You're hurting me-" her protest died on her lips as his crashed to hers. She heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow before they died away. Hermione panicked and started pushing him, but he wouldn't budge. She struggled. Finally, when she felt his tongue, she freaked out and kneed him in his family jewels. He fell to the floor with a groan. Hermione grabbed her wand and hexed him before she ran for it, which was not an easy feat when one is wearing heels in the snow._

_She'd just about made it back inside when someone grabbed her from behind, muffling her shriek with their hand._

"You're not getting away from me that easily," growled Cormac. By now, Hermione was fully panicking. She couldn't reach her wand, and Cormac was overpowering her with brute strength. He tried to kiss her again, but she managed to turn her face just in time.

"Cormac, please, stop!" she whimpered, the tears finally pouring.

"Stop struggling," he huffed as he pushed her against the nearest tree.

"Why are you doing this?" Hermione sobbed, looking around for someone to save her.

"I can't have you any other way," was his response. Hermione tried to yell for help, but to no avail, Cormac once more crushed his lips to hers. Finally, Hermione realized that struggling was futile, so she just let her legs give out, forcing Cormac to hold all of her weight. Hermione was hoping that after giving up, he would stop since there was no longer a challenge and she'd be able to break free. But he just held on to her, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her neck. The tears were still falling and Hermione had given up all hope when someone came.

"_Stupefy!"_

Cormac was blasted away from Hermione so abruptly that she sunk to her knees, no longer having him or herself holding her up. She was relieved. She turned her head towards her savior.

"Draco," she mumbled, shocked to see him standing there. She didn't think he'd be able to break through her shield, especially not that fast. Unfortunately, He mistook her shocked expression for something else.

"What, didn't want me to see that did you? He hissed.

"What?" Hermione was confused.

"How long did it take before you ran to him? Couldn't wait to get your hands on him could you?" he snarled.

"No, Draco, you don't understand!" Hermione pleaded, getting to her feet.

"Weasley was wrong," he glared, "Ginny's not the slag, _you_ are."

Hermione stepped back, as if someone had slapped her.

"But, Draco," she whispered.

"You know what, _Granger,_ I was wrong, this, _us_, isn't going to work out. I never should have asked you out," he sneered and after giving her one last malevolent glare, he stomped away.

"No, Draco, wait, please!" Hermione cried out, hoping to stop him. Her pleas fell upon deaf ears. He was already gone.

* * *

**Well, I know that was very short, but I wanted this chapter to only focus on that one scene. Don't hate me! **

**One reason I took so long to update was because I couldn't decide between three different scenarios. I wasn't sure how I wanted this to end up. I finally decided today that this was the best route to take. **

**Please review, let me know what you thought, how you feel, what you'd like to see, if you want them to get back together or what. :) I know what I'm going to write about, but ideas are always beneficial!**

_**Please Review!**_


	24. Oh my god, Hermione, shut up

**J.K Rowling has created the amazing world of Harry Potter**

* * *

Hermione collapsed on her bed, crying. She felt embarrassed. This wasn't her. She was the smartest witch of her year, and she couldn't even fight off Mclaggen, or keep a boyfriend. She didn't know what had happened to her. It wasn't like her to be so weak; she cringed thinking of what might have happened had Draco not intervened, even if it was for his own jealous reasons. But he had no reason to be jealous! Hermione didn't understand why he couldn't see she was being assaulted, was he really that quick to believe the worst of her?

The door burst open with a resounding thud.

"Hermione, what's going on? We just passed Draco and he looked really mad and said he didn't know or care where you were!" asked Ginny. Hermione didn't answer; there were just the small shakes of her shoulders and the quiet sounds of sniffling echoing across the Head Girl's bedroom.

"Oh that's it," grumbled Pansy, tired of being ignored. She walked up to the bed and turned Hermione over; she pulled her up and hugged her. Hermione tensed at first, but slowly hugged her friend back, her tears renewing.

"Tell us what happened," Pansy demanded gently as she rubbed soothing circles on her back. Ginny and Luna came and sat down beside her.

Hermione blurted out the whole story. How she caught Astoria kissing Draco, what she said and did, how she ran away and was attacked by Cormac. The girls were furious and ready to murder someone, but stayed still as they listened to Hermione recount her story.

"Then, he blasted Cormac away, but he thought that I was kissing him! And he called me a slag, and broke up with me!" she cried.

"I swear, I'm going to hex his balls off," threatened Ginny, standing.

"No, Ginny, please don't! It'll just make things worse," Hermione said to her friend.

"How can it make things worse?" she demanded.

"I just want to let him cool down, and then I'll talk to him and describe what happened. If he doesn't listen to me, then you have my blessing," Hermione smiled a bit as she said that last part.

"Do you need anything?" asked Pansy.

"No, I just want to be left alone right now. Please."

"Okay, come on Ginny, Luna," Pansy let go of Hermione and walked towards the door.

"Guys, don't do anything," Hermione warned.

"We won't," promised Luna. But Hermione couldn't help but notice the smirks on Pansy and Ginny's faces.

The girls passed Draco as he was entering the common room. If looks could kill, Draco would have been dead three times over by now. Pansy waved the girls on, and told them to return to their dates, she'd join them in a bit. As soon as they were gone, she rounded on her best friend.

"You unbelievable prat," she hissed so Hermione wouldn't hear her, "what the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

"Leave me alone Pans," he said, exasperated.

"No! You are wrong Draco, Hermione would be the last girl to ever betray you," after shooting him one last glare, Pansy stormed out of there. She only hoped that Draco had heard her words, and if not, she was sure that the little bat-bogey hex that Ginny had so kindly taught her and that she sent him on her way out would keep him company.

* * *

Ginny and Luna, well, mainly Ginny, recounted the story to Blaise, Harry and Ron while Pansy was gone. Harry and Ron looked like they were going to kill Draco.

"I told Hermione, if that git ever hurt her, I'd hurt him," Ron looked like he was about to spring to his feet and hurtle down the corridors until he found Draco.

"I'll help you," Harry said calmly, but his eyes shone like emeralds, Draco would be wise to avoid this one.

"I don't know, I think we should just let them sort it out themselves," said Blaise, hesitantly. Everyone swirled to glare at him. Luckily, someone stopped them from protesting.

"I agree," Pansy nodded, entering the hallway everyone was in and walking over to Ron.

"Why would you agree to that?" asked Ron, angrily.

"Because, _Ronald_, it's not our business," Ron opened his mouth to argue, "Shut it, I think we should just let them work things out, if they haven't sorted it out in a week, then we'll intervene, until then, it's best to just stay out of it."

"What makes you the boss?" asked Ginny.

"Look!" Blaise threw his hands in the air, frustrated, "Draco is my best friend, and I know him better than anyone. Pansy's right, leave the two of them alone, if they can't solve their issues, then we can intervene, but until then, we can't just interfere in their business!"

"I'm sure it's just the wrackspurts," Luna said, loftily.

"Fine," sighed Harry, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get Luna to change her mind. Ginny and Ron reluctantly relented.

"But only for a week." Ginny said, pointing her finger at Pansy.

"Fine, now, let's return to the Great Hall. Since both of the heads are missing, someone has to make sure everything runs smoothly," Pansy rolled her eyes.

* * *

The days passed slowly, you could tell that the rift between Draco and Hermione was really taking a toll on their friends. Hermione's nearly cursed Astoria when she heard her whispering to her friends.

"I told you that a filthy mudblood like her wouldn't be able to keep Draco's interest for very long." The only reason Astoria wasn't in the hospital wing was because Pansy had dragged Hermione away, threatening to burn her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ if she didn't cooperate.

Draco had nearly pummeled Cormac when he passed him in the hallway, he would have ignored the prick, but it's kind of hard to do that when someone's smirking at you like they're better than you, no one is better than a Malfoy.

Needless to say, things were extremely awkward. Draco and Hermione avoided each other in their Common Room, sat as far away from each other as possible when their friends decided to hang out as a group, and they even took to patrolling by themselves, Hermione Granger was breaking the rules and she really hoped that Professor McGonagall didn't find out.

Finally, a week had passed, a week in which no attempts to reconcile their differences had been made. Pansy, Blaise, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Luna finally realized just how serious this was, well, Luna didn't, she didn't even seem to notice the rift between her friends.

"Okay, I think it's officially time that we did something, this has been going on for too long!" Pansy whispered.

"Why are you whispering? There's no one here Pans," Ron pointed out.

"Oh… right," muttered Pansy, looking around her as if just noticing that the group was standing underneath the Quidditch bleachers.

"They don't even spend time with us as a group anymore!" Ginny threw her hands up in the air, frustrated.

"Yeah, Draco's been focusing all his time on conquering his Animagus form, while Granger's been holed up in the library. I swear she knows of a secret room in there or something, she always manages to evade Draco and I if we enter the Library," Blaise trailed off.

"Well, does anyone have any ideas? Of ways that we could get them to talk?"

"We could always shove them in a broom cupboard, if anything, that'd be a good laugh," Ron chuckled, not being serious about his best friend trapped in a cupboard with his one time nemesis.

"That's perfect!" Pansy and Ginny screamed simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned.

"I knew you had a brain in there somewhere Ronniekins!" Ginny grinned. Ron glared at his little sister.

"I wasn't being serious! That's an awful idea!" he protested.

"No! It's perfect, we need to force them somewhere where they would have no choice but to talk to each other."

"Harry!" Ron turned to his best friend.

"Well, I don't like the idea anymore than you do, but you have to admit, we're a bit short on ideas right now, it couldn't hurt to try it."

"Good! It's settled, Pans, do you know about that broom cupboard on the third floor next to that alcove with the Lachlan the Lanky statue?

"Oh yeah," Pansy smirked.

"Good. Meet me there at eight, after dinner. Bring Draco, we'll shove him in there first, then we can go find Hermione. Blaise, Ron and Harry, you'll be in charge of guarding the door until we get back. Silencing charms, locking charms, do everything to make sure that they can't get out. Clear?"

"Clear!"

* * *

"Pans, where are we going? I have an Arithmancy essay that I need to finish," said an exasperated Draco. Pansy had been dragging him around the castle since dinner ended.

"I'm telling you, I found a secret passageway out of the school! One that the Gryffindors don't know about," Pansy continued pulling him by his arm.

"I hope you realize that I am Head Boy and you're breaking a school rule," Draco said dryly, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Pft, since when have you ever cared?" Pansy rolled her eyes. "Ah, here we are!"

"Here? We're in the middle of no whe-" but Draco didn't get to finish what he was saying. A sac was placed over his head, his wand stolen, and then he was spun around multiple times before the sac was removed and he was hastily shoved into a dark place before being stunned.

"Ron! You didn't have to stun him!" Pansy turned to glare at her boyfriend.

"Just taking all necessary precautions, he'll be back to normal by the time you guys get back with Hermione," he shrugged. Pansy just shook her head before walking off with Luna and Ginny.

Soon, voices were heard coming down the 3rd floor corridor once more.

"Guys, where are you taking me?"

"We told you, there were some fourth years arguing pretty badly with each other down here, we stunned them because they were being annoying, now you can give them detentions for us," Ginny said nonchalantly.

"You stunned them! You guys! You can't do that!"

"You didn't see anything," Pansy shrugged, stopping suddenly. "Now!"

Once more, there was some shoving and muffles of protest before the broom cupboard door was wrenched open, Hermione was thrown inside, and then the door was locked from the outside using magic. Pansy and Ginny gave each other high-fives, cackling madly.

* * *

**Oh... hello there, so it's been about 11 months. I am so so so sorry you guys. I don't want to make excuses, and I don't have any good ones for not updating, school was just super hectic since it was my last year, and I decided to focus on work this summer before updating also. But, I_ PROMISE_ that I will finish this by the time that the summer is over. I suspect between 2-4 chapters remain of It's Just a Crush. I really hope that I still have my readers, but I understand if you guys moved on. **

**Please review, even if it is to yell at me, once again, I'm sorry that I took so long.**

**- Septumsempra**


	25. Ten points from Gryffindor!

**J.K Rowling owns the wonder that is Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Damn you Weasley!" Hermione shouted, pounding on the door.

Draco leaned back, casually as possible, against the wall, foot resting on an overturned bucket. Most of the space was devoted to a few brooms, and many cleaning supplies, it must have been Filch's cupboard.

"Hey! It wasn't just me! Everyone was in on this!" Ginny defended herself.

"I don't care who was in on it! Let me out! It smells like Ron's room in here!"

"Oi! My room doesn't smell that bad!"

"Why was she in your room?" asked Pansy.

"We were- oh never mind, it doesn't matter," Ron grumbled.

"Let me out you guys! This isn't funny; I promise I won't hex you!"

"No, not until you guys talk things out!" shouted Ginny.

"What? Who's you guys?" Hermione demanded, still not noticing that she wasn't the only one in the small space.

There was no answer from the outside, Hermione had been abandoned in the cupboard.

She whirled around to try to find a way out, but gasped in shock.

"Granger," Draco acknowledged, but Hermione could hear the underlying anger in his voice.

Hermione stared at him for a moment longer, not saying anything, and then she twisted back around and started banging on the door.

"Help! Help me! Someone help me!" She continued this for about five minutes, before giving up and sliding down against the door. She sighed and put her head between her knees, almost as if she was curled up in the fetal position, but upright.

"I didn't have anything to do with this," Draco offered, sliding down as well, along the opposite wall. That was a feat in itself since there was really no room within the small cupboard, his legs were too long, and there was nowhere to put them, so he settled with putting them on either side of Hermione. She stiffened as she felt his leg brush against her.

They sat there in silence, neither willing to speak. Draco was pissed off with his friends, and with Hermione, and she had just given up and didn't' want to speak to him anymore, she had tried to explain, and he didn't listen, it wasn't for her to make the effort now.

Fifteen minutes had passed, still no words being passed between the two. Finally, footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor. Hermione held her breath, it wouldn't do for a professor to find them in such a compromising position, and it would mean detention.

"Oh my god, I don't hear anything, do you think they killed each other?" demanded Ginny, a bit hysterically.

"Calm down, they have no wands, there's no way they can harm each other in there," Blaise pointed out.

"Oh, right. Have you guys figured out your problems yet?" Ginny asked, tapping the door.

Still no response.

"Hello?" whistled Pansy.

Nothing.

"What the-"

"Let me out, Ginny, please," came the small voice of Hermione.

"Have you guys professed your love?"

No response, but Blaise could swear he felt Draco's glare through the thick wooden door.

"I'll take that as a no," sighed Ginny.

"Have you guys even spoken?" demanded Pansy.

No sound came from the cupboard.

"You guys are so stupid!" she yelled. "You listen to me, and you listen to me carefully Draco, or so help me Merlin,"

Draco shifted his position within the cupboard, and rolled his eyes. Hermione just put her head back down.

"You are the most idiotic man I have ever met in my life. Hermione didn't cheat on you! Get that through your head!"

"Yeah, kissing Mclaggen doesn't constitute as cheating at all," replied Draco, sarcastically.

"Urgh!" Pansy stomped her feet. "Ron, Harry, go grab Mclaggen. Now!"

They stared at each other before shrugging and after a glare from Pansy; they ran for the Gryffindor common room.

"I swear you don't deserve her," Ginny said venomously.

Inside the room, Draco looked at Hermione, how she wouldn't even look at him and kept her eyes on the ground the entire time. _Did I make a mistake?_ He thought.

Muffled shouting was heard, and then a thud.

"Hello prick," Pansy acknowledged Mclaggen, who was sprawled at her feet.

"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded. "I'm telling McGonagall!"

"Oh shut up," said Blaise.

"Now, Mclaggen, you're going to tell all of us here _exactly_ what happened the night of the ball with Hermione,"

"Yeah and why would I do that?" he smirked, though it didn't have much effect as he still lay on the ground.

"Because if you don't, I'm going to make you well acquainted with my wand!" threatened Ginny.

Mclaggen gulped, Ginny's fiery personality and skill with a wand was well known.

"Fine, I kissed Hermione," he said, smugly, and then yelped, Harry had just sent a hex at him.

"The truth," glared Harry.

Mclaggen narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he spat, getting to his feet, but not noticing Pansy unlock the door that was right behind him, "I cornered her, said some stuff, then pushed her against a tree and kissed her, she kneed me, I fell, and then she ran away."

"Bastard!" came the infuriated yell of Draco from behind him. Mclaggen didn't have time to move or duck as Draco's fist came flying at his face. Mclaggen fell to the floor, clutching his face. Draco followed suit and started punching every inch of Mclaggen. Finally, Blaise pulled him off.

"You can't kill him," Blaise stated, calmly.

"No, but I can make it so that he never moves again!" Draco snarled.

"Luna, please take Mclaggen to the hospital wing, tell Pomfrey that he fell down the stairs," instructed Ginny. Luna levitated Mclaggen into the air, and skipped off down the hall.

"Well, now do you believe her," demanded Ginny. As if remembering where he was, Draco spun around and landed his eyes on Hermione, who was just standing there, but not looking at him.

"Oh Merlin, Hermione, I'm so sorry! I'm the biggest prat alive and I don't deserve you, I'm so sorry for not believing you,"

"It's not that you didn't believe me, it's that you didn't trust me. You wouldn't take my word for it, but you're willing to trust someone else about it? You stormed away from me at the table just because Mclaggen said a few things! Then I walk in on Astoria kissing you?" Draco opened his mouth to respond,

"I'm not done talking!" Hermione interrupted him; neither of them noticed their friends slowly backing away down the corridor. "I didn't jump to conclusions when I saw her kissing you because I knew that you wouldn't cheat on me, I gave you my trust. But you broke it by not returning the favor! Do you really think so little of me that you think I'd kiss someone else while I'm with you?" Hermione's eyes shined with tears.

"Hermione-" Draco stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her, Hermione stiffened at first, but slowly let herself give in and enjoy the comfort of his arms.

"I'm so sorry, nothing I can say will change what has happened, you're right, I didn't trust you. I have no excuses, so I'm not going to give you any. I just, I'm sorry, can we please start over? Act like nothing happened that evening after I asked you to be my girlfriend?"

Hermione was quiet for a moment, before she pulled away and looked up at him.

"Do you promise to talk to me if anything ever happens again? To not jump to conclusions?"

"I swear. I also give you permission to hex me if I ever hurt you like this again."

"Then yes, I forgive you," Hermione giggled, "Draco Malfoy's my boyfriend."

Draco chuckled and rolled his eyes before bending down and kissing his girlfriend.

* * *

_**It seems a bit rushed, even to me. I'd guess that there will be about two more chapters after this. Did you guys see Voldemort at the Olympics? I loved that!**_

_**Please review! Feedback is always appreciated!**_


	26. We only get seven years at Hogwarts

**I thank JK Rowling for creating Harry Potter :)**

* * *

The birds chirped as they chased each other across the clear blue sky. The giant squid lazed about in his giant lake and the flowers started to bloom. It was the first day of spring.

Hermione sighed as she leaned back against the legs of her boyfriend. It was so peaceful, so calm. They'd been sitting outside for the past hour, just enjoying the sunshine together, as a proper couple should. The months since the ball had just flown by.

"Ugh, that's absolutely revolting," Hermione's face wrinkled in disgust.

"I quite agree with you, it looks like they're trying to eat each other," agreed Draco, eyeing the couple sitting on the other side of the lake. Surprisingly, yet not so surprisingly, considering their personalities, Mclaggen and Greengrass had gotten with each other. They really were perfect for each other, both were horrible people.

"As long as they're not bothering us anymore," Hermione shrugged. Draco smirked, and then got up, pulling his girlfriend to her feet.

"Come on, I want to show you something."

"What is it?" demanded Hermione.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?" responded Draco, smugly. Hermione just rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be pulled along by Draco, but then she saw where they were headed.

"Uh, Draco, we're not exactly supposed to be in the Forbidden Forest,"

"Calm down Head Girl, I promise it'll be worth it."

"Are you taking me in there to kill me and then feed my body to the Acromantulas? So that no one will ever find me?"

Draco didn't reply.

"Oh god, you are! I was just kidding, but it kind of makes sense now-" Draco shut her up by spinning around and kissing her. After he had thoroughly snogged her, he pulled away and kept walking.

"I'm not going to kill you," then he mumbled something about _crazy Gryffindors_. Hermione didn't even defend her house, still grinning over the kiss.

"If only I'd known long ago that the key to shutting up the brains of the golden trio was to snog her," Draco shook his head as he chuckled.

"Oh shut up," Hermione swatted his arm. Draco stopped in a wide clearing.

"Alright," he spun around to face his girlfriend, "close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Draco huffed.

"Fine," Hermione rolled her eyes, but complied.

"Alright, don't open them, or you'll ruin the surprise, actually," Draco brandished his wand and a blindfold appeared over Hermione's eyes.

"Wow, thanks for trusting me," Hermione said in annoyance, fingering the cloth that now covered her eyes.

"Okay, take it off when you feel something touch you,"

"What-" but Draco shushed her, and then he closed his own eyes in concentration and mumbled something that Hermione couldn't hear. Hermione could feel magic crackling in the air around her,

"Draco? What happened?" There was no reply. Hermione felt something touch her cheek softly. She took that as the sign, and removed her blindfold. Gasping in shock, she tumbled over backwards, landing in the soft plush grass, staring at the sight before her.

Where Draco once stood, now stood a magnificent beast, a snowy white, Antipodean Opaleye with shiny scales that looked like silver when the sun hit them just right.

"Oh my," she gasped in shock, and then she shook her head to clear it and jumped to her feet. "Draco! You did it! Oh my Merlin, I'm so proud of you!" she cried in delight. Draco raised his snout as if in delight and let out a burst of fire. There was a pop, and then he returned to all his human glory. Hermione charged him and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Draco eagerly returned her hug, holding her close to him.

"That was amazing, I can't believe you accomplished it!" her muffled voice came again, Draco grinned.

"What can I say? I'm amazing."

* * *

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

"And don't forget guys, if someone does offer you a job, say yes. You can always quit later, and then at least you'll be one of the unemployed as opposed to one of the never-employed" The students and parents in attendance laughed as Draco interrupted Hermione.

"Anyways, we did it, go out there and show the world what you're made of. We are the graduating class of 1998!" The audience erupted into cheers and the students threw their hats up in the air.

Hermione turned to her boyfriend and giggled as he embraced her and spun her around in a circle.

"We did it," he whispered, but Hermione could hear him perfectly amongst the noises of the crowd.

"We did," she smiled before meeting her lips to his. Finally, she pulled away and they went to greet the rest of their friends.

"You did it!" Ginny squealed, as she moved away from Blaise to embrace Hermione. "What are me and Luna going to do at Hogwarts without you guys? So selfish, you could have all just failed a year, but no, you had to go and graduate!" cried Ginny. Her friends laughed at her antics.

"We have an excuse to come visit Hogwarts while you guys are here though! Every Hogsmeade weekend, I'll be there waiting for you," grinned Blaise as he kissed his girlfriend.

"And we have the entire summer together! Don't forget!" Piped in Pansy. The group of eight was going on a holiday together to Australia. It took a lot of convincing on Ron and Ginny's part, Molly wasn't just about to let her kids hop across the ocean, but eventually, they wore her down and she realized she couldn't actually stop any of them from going.

"It's going to be great, and we're all going to be together!" Cheered Ron, and the others joined in. It was going to be unforgettable.

* * *

**I know it was extremely short, but all that needed to be said, was said. Stick around for the Epilogue! Just one more chapter is remaining of my first ever Fanfiction!**

**Please Review!**


	27. We've got these days of summer

**I welcome all of you, to the final chapter of "It's just a crush"**

**Thank you J.K. Rowling, for creating Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Draco! Hurry up! We're going to miss the train! »

"I'm coming, woman, sheesh, stop your nagging," mumbled a thirty-six year old Draco Malfoy, who was levitating a pink trunk behind him.

"He was helping me mummy!" A small eleven year old girl said, coming out from behind her father. Draco grinned; his little princess always had his back.

"You're lucky she loves you Draco," glared Hermione, she was quite frazzled, they had fifteen minutes until the Hogwarts express left, yet she and her family of eight was still at home.

"Well, we're ready now, so let's get going! Everyone, grab onto someone who can apparate, and we're off!" There were four resounding pops, then the Malfoy family disappeared, only to reappear at King's Cross station.

"Malfoy's! Around me!" Commanded Draco. Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing what was about to come, she scanned her eyes around the platform, before her eyes came to rest on her best friends, she beckoned them all over with a grin, and then returned her attention to her family.

"Right, let's go over the rules one more time boys," Draco began, before turning to face his oldest son, "Perseus Lycoris Malfoy, this is your final year, what is expected of you?"

"To be the best Head boy and quidditch captain that Slytherin has ever seen and to beat Yasmin Weasley and the rest of the Gryffindor team," stated his son, as he rolled his eyes.

"Good," Draco faced his sixteen year old twins next, "And you two?"

"We are to unleash-" began Lynx Orion Malfoy,

"As much mayhem as possible-" continued Lupus Regulas,

"Upon our fellow schoolmates-"

"Especially the Gryffindors-" they chorused in unison. Hermione covered her eyes with her hand.

"Excellent, Cepheus?"

"Uh, do well in school?"

"I suppose that'll do," grumbled Draco, turning to face his next son.

"Scorpius Hyperion?"

"I'm supposed to do well in school and be a good prefect and make sure I don't get close to Rose Weasley," he drawled, sarcastically.

"Very good!" Draco grinned, grimacing as Hermione hit him upside down the head.

"Leo Lucius?"

"I'm supposed to not get into any trouble?"

"Yeah… I guess that'll work," finally, Draco turned to face his angel.

"Princess?"

"Yes daddy?" Cassiopeia Narcissa's six brothers all rolled their eyes at her childish voice; it was so obvious how she had their father wrapped around her little pinky.

"What's expected of you this year?"

"I'm expected to get into Slytherin and make the quidditch team and make lots of friends and be mean to the Weasley's, even though I really like Auntie Pansy," she finished, grinning up at her daddy.

"Perfect! Oh, my little angel's going to be the brightest, smartest, most amazing quidditch player and Slytherin that Hogwarts has ever seen, not to mention the prettiest," he winked, ignoring his families groans behind him. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Speaking of prettiest,"

He whirled back around to face his sons.

"If any boy tries to talk to your sister, what do you do?"

"Deduct points from his house," said Perseus.

"Beat him up," smirked the twins.

"Prank him?" Cepheus asked. He tended to do that, answer a question with a question.

"Throw him off the astronomy tower," grinned Scorpius.

"Hang him from the quidditch pole!" yelled Leo.

"Oh lord, you're going to turn my sons into criminals," Hermione glared at her husband before turning her attention to her children.

"You are all to focus hard on school, and quidditch if you so wish, no bullying or pranks on anyone!" she stared hard at her sons, who looked away from her, Hermione Malfoy was quite terrifying, "No bullying the friends that your sister makes, or I'll be coming up to Hogwarts personally to bully _you," _her sons gasped, and she smirked, glad that they understood her.

"Now sweetie, even if you don't get into Slytherin, it'll be fine, you'll make a wonderful asset to whichever house you get, especially if it's Gryffindor… dear Merlin, please let my daughter be a Gryffindor," she added, looking up to the sky. It was a sore subject for Hermione, yet one of great amusement to the rest of her friends and husband. She had seven children, and so far, _every single one_ of them was a Slytherin.

"Now, everyone, give your mummy a hug," she commanded, and her children threw their arms around her and engulfed her in the biggest hug ever.

"All of my babies are going to be at Hogwarts now, it's so sad!" she wailed. Draco winced; he should have expected her to get emotional today.

"Mugglemuffin, don't worry! It'll be Christmas hols soon, and then they'll be home to visit!"

"It's, it's just not the same!" she sniffed.

"Oh god, has she started already?" interrupted the voice of Ginny Zabini.

"Thank Merlin that you don't cry like that, love," added her husband, Blaise.

"Shut up! You guys are so heartless," glared Hermione while Draco chuckled. Then he gave Blaise a manly hug, the two of them refused to call it a normal hug, they insisted that that was far too feminine for them, so even though they hugged each other exactly the same as they hugged everyone else, it was referred to as a manly hug between them. Honestly, men.

"Eyo Malfoy's," chorused the three Zabini children. Falcon, the oldest was in his seventh year and also in Slytherin, he was best friends with Perseus. Gideon, the next child, was in his fourth year, but he was a Gryffindor, much to the delight of Ginny. Finally, there was Maya, their only daughter, who in her sixth year was a mischief maker, just like the Malfoy twins.

"Oh, a reunion!" cried a voice to their left. Hermione barely had enough time to turn before she was tackled by a blur, a blur by the name of Pansy.

"Awe, did we have to come say hi, Pans? I wanted to keep my daughters away from Malfoy's evil sons for as long as possible," whined Ron, coming up behind his wife.

"Oh daddy, don't worry, we can handle ourselves, after all, we did beat them on the quidditch pitch last year," smirked Yasmin, the eldest of the Ron's children.

"You won't win this year!" Promised Perseus, glaring at his rival.

"Good morning aunt Ginny, uncle Blaise, aunt Hermione, uncle Draco," chorused the rest of the kids.

After Yasmin, came Eliza Iris, in her sixth year. Rose Azalea, in her fifth year, who upon seeing Scorpius, started blushing, then there was Aria Flora, in her third year, Hazel Ivy, a second year, and bringing up the rear, the youngest child and only son, Hugo Fred Weasley who, like Cassiopeia, was beginning his first year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Weasley," acknowledged Draco,

"Malfoy," greeted Ron.

"Potter," Blaise nodded at a man who was fast approaching the three families.

"Friends!" came the lofty voice of Luna, as she appeared behind her husband, from seemingly nowhere.

"Luna!" cried Hermione, Pansy and Ginny, before beginning to question Mrs. Potter. The Potters had just returned from a two-month long trip from the Amazonian jungles where Luna wanted to discover a colony of scrumblebacked bumblebees. She hadn't found any, but still maintained that they existed.

"Oh hey Harry, how are you? It's so nice to see you! How was your trip? Oh it was fine, thanks for remembering me!" said Harry sarcastically, as he stood on the outside of the group, forgotten.

"Sorry Harry!" giggled Hermione, as she launched herself at her best friend. Then, she pushed him away abruptly.

"How're my favorite godchildren!?" she cried, opening her arms wide and hugging the life out three teenagers.

"Auntie Hermione, we're your _only_ godchildren,"

"That makes you my favorite," she replied cheekily.

"Oh of course, how could I forget, you love my children and wife more than me," grumbled Harry as he turned to greet his best friend, Ron. At least someone appreciated the boy who lived.

"It's okay daddy, I love you!" grinned fourteen year old Lily Potter.

"Suck up!" Albus rolled his eyes, and then went to greet his best friend, Scorpius.

"Oh that's right, go over to the snake pit," James Potter shook his head at his little brother. It came as a shock to everyone, except for Harry, when the middle Potter child was sorted into Slytherin.

"Now now, children, play nice," drawled Draco Malfoy, eyeing the nineteen children standing in front of him. Yeah, nineteen, and that wasn't even all of them. Minerva, the current headmaster, had a full set of grey hair now thanks to the offspring of the graduating class of 1998 and 1999. The amount of disciplinary letters sent home to these families was astounding. James, Fred and Louise took great pride in being the greatest Gryffindor pranksters ever, well, after the Marauders of course. And, on the other side, Lynx and Lupus thought themselves to be the greatest thing since chocolate frogs. It was a wonder they could fit through doors with heads as inflated as theirs were.

Suddenly, the Hogwarts express sounded its final boarding alarm.

"Oh! Get on the train! All of you!" commanded Hermione, snapping into action.

"We love you!" chorused the voices of the adults, as their children hurried towards the train.

"Don't forget to take care of your sister!" Bellowed Draco, while glaring at every teen-aged male that he could see and that wasn't related to him.

"Stay away from Scorpius, Rose!" called Ron. The two men glared at each other before barking out various demands and commands for their children, not aware that one, they weren't listening, and two, their wives and friends were leaving.

"They'll notice eventually," shrugged Harry. "Come back to our house for a bite to eat?"

"Yes!" and then the Zabini's, Potter's, Hermione and Pansy apparated out with a pop.

"Hey!" cried Ron and Draco simultaneously, glaring at the spot their friends vanished from.

456

_Dear Mummy and Daddy,_

_I like it here at Hogwarts, it's very nice, and everyone is so kind! I'm so happy that I'm finally here; Hugo and I have stuck together so far since we haven't really had time to make any friends. But I'll owl you soon!_

_PS: Mummy, please tell the boys to stop following me around everyone._

_PPS: Mummy, can you also tell them to stop threatening Hugo?_

_PPS: Gryffindor._

"Nooooo! My baby's a Gryffindor!" wailed Draco Malfoy as his wife punched her fist in the air while dancing around him singing.

"Finally! Another Gryffindor in the house!"

* * *

**Alas, after two years, the story is finished.**

**For my first fanfiction ever, I think that it went pretty well. Is it my best work? No. I started writing this when I was fifteen years old, now I've graduated. I've learned a lot more and know that the next time I write something, it will be much better.**

**"It's just a crush" is my baby, I thank all of my readers and my reviewers. Logging on, and seeing that someone had reviewed my story meant so much to me. It would motivate me to open up word and write the next chapter of this story.**

**I have many ideas for the next-generation, do I want to put those ideas into writing? Maybe someday.**

**I promised you all that I would finish this story by the time that the summer ended. And I did. Did I rush some parts of the story? Yes. But I had a deadline that I needed to reach and so unfortunately, some parts of the story were not as detailed as they could have been, for that, I'm sorry.**

**As of now, I am starting University, when I have time, maybe I'll write the occasional one-shot, but I'll be focusing my attention on my studies, that's my first priority.**

**Once again, thank you everyone who has been with me since the start. I love you for giving my story a chance. Thank you.**

**Much love,**

**Septumsempra.**


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